ICAMILLE PISSARRO
! i <
' -ll
^ it
*.tt>
Letters to His Son Lucien
PANTHEON BOOKS INC
$6.50
CAMILLE PISSARRO
Letters To His Son Lucien
90 Illustrations
This first publication of Camille
Pissarro's weekly letters to his son
Lucien — from 1883 to the painter's
death in 1903 — forms what might
well be called A DIARY OF IM-
PRESSIONISM. Pissarro, named by
his contemporaries 'The Father of
Impressionism,' ten years older than
his comrades, thinks and feels with
and for the whole group, and his let-
ters mirror not only his own struggles
but the character, work and destiny
of the famous men around him: a
Gauguin, Renoir, Monet, Degas, Ce-
zanne.
To the historian, these letters give
a wealth of first-hand material, to the
artist they reveal the methods and
theories of a master, to the average
reader they disclose the intimate life,
the everyday struggle of a great and
at the same time simple, warmhearted
and modest man, with a gift not only
for the brush, but also for the pen.
Pissarro's comments on life, politics
and literature are as pungent and in-
teresting as those on art and artists.
But it is when he tries to communi-
cate to his son — also a painter — his
views on art that these letters take on
their highest importance as a unique
and illuminating document on Im-
pressionism.
Translated from the unpublished
French letters.
Property of
a von Rebay Foundation
CAMILLE PISSARRO
LETTERS
TO HIS SON LUCIEN
BOOKS BY JOHN REWALD
CEZANNE
SA VIE, SON OEUVRE, SON AMITIE POUR ZOLA
Paris, 1959
GAUGUIN
New York, 1938
MAILLOL
New York, 1939
GEORGES SEURAT
New York, 1943
Edited by the same Author
PAUL CEZANNE, LETTERS
London, 1941
PAUL GAUGUIN
LETTERS TO A. VOLLARD AND A. FONTAINAS
San Francisco, 1943
THE WOODCUTS OF ARISTIDE MAILLOL
A COMPLETE CATALOGUE
New York, 1943
DEGAS, WORKS IN SCULPTURE
A COMPLETE CATALOGUE
London — New York, 1944
CAMILLE PISSARRO
LETTERS
TO HIS SON LUCIEN
Edited with the assistance of Lucien Pissarro by
JOHN REWALD
[THE HILLA VON R1 ' NDATION
GREENS EARMS, CONNECTICUT. 06436
With Ninety Illustrations
PANTHEON BOOKS INC., NEW YORK
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH MANUSCRIPT BY LIONEL ABEL
Copyright 1943 by Pantheon Books Inc., New York.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without permission in writing from the pub-
lisher, except by a reviewer. Manufactured in the United
States by American Book— Stratford Press, Inc., New York.
Second Edition
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 7
INTRODUCTION 11
THE LETTERS 21
INDEX 561
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I owe much to Alfred H. Barr Jr., Henri Focil-
lon, Gerstle Mack, Ludovic Rodolphe Pissarro,
Meyer Schapiro, Lionello Venturi and Georges
Wildenstein for the interest they have shown in
this publication and for the encouragement and
help they have offered me.
J. R.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
1. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's son Lucien, 1874. Litho-
graph [D.128] 52-33
2. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's son Lucien, 1883. Pastel
[1563], Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 32-33
3. — C. Pissarro: Marketscene. Pen and ink sketch, about 1883.
Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 33
4. — Page from Camille Pissarro's letter, Rouen, October 11,1 883 . 41
5. — C. Pissarro : Portrait of Paul Gauguin — P. Gauguin : Portrait
of Camille Pissarro, about 1883. Drawing, Paul-Emile Pis-
sarro Coll., France 48-49
6. — C. Pissarro: Road from Pontoise to Osny, 1883. Painting
[581], Private Coll 48-49
7. — P. Gauguin: Road from Pontoise to Osny, 1883. Painting,
Private Coll 48-49
8. — P. Gauguin: Landscape in Normandy, near Rouen, 1884.
Painting, French Art Gallery, New York 48-49
9. — Paul Gauguin, Photograph 64-65
10. — A. Menzel: The Ballroom. Painting 64-65
11. — E. Degas : Copy after Menzel's "Ballroom." Painting . . 64-65
12. — Edgar Degas, Photograph taken by the Artist himself . . 64-65
13. — C. Pissarro: La rue de la Grosse Horloge a Rouen, 1883.
Etching [D.54], Public Library, New York (S. P. Avery
Coll.) .... 80-81
14. — C. Pissarro: La rue Malpalue a Rouen, 1883. Etching [D.53],
Public Library, New York (S. P. Avery Coll.) .... 80-81
15. — C. Pissarro: St. Martin — Pigdealers. Pen and ink drawing,
1886. Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 87
16. — C. Pissarro: Le Theatre des Arts a Rouen, 1883. Watercolor,
Private Coll., New York 112-113
17. — C. Pissarro: The Village of Eragny on the Epte near Gisors,
1884. Painting [636], Private Coll 112-113
18. — Camille Pissarro's House at Eragny, Photograph . . . 128-129
7
PAGE
19. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's Wife, about 1883. Draw-
ing, Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 128-129
20. — M. Luce: Portrait of Camille Pissarro, 1890. Drawing, John
Rewald Coll., New York 128-129
21.— Camille Pissarro, Photograph, about 1893 128-129
22. — Les Travaux des Champs: The Sower. Drawn by Camille and
cut on wood by Lucien Pissarro. Published in 1888 by Theo
van Gogh 131
23. — Georges Seurat, Photograph 144-145
24. — G. Seurat: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte, 1884-86. Painting, Art Institute, Chicago . . . 144-145
25. — C. Pissarro : View from the Artist's Window in Eragny, Grey
Weather, 1886. Painting [721], Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 144-145
26. — C. Pissarro: The Train to Dieppe, 1886. Painting [694],
Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York 144-145
27. — Les Travaux des Champs: Peasants in the Field. Drawn by
Camille and cut on wood by Lucien Pissarro, about 1890 . 147
28. — C. Pissarro: Woman Sewing. Drawing, published in 1891 in
The Portfolio 151
29. — Lucien Pissarro: Sister of the Woods. Woodcut, published in
1892 in The Dial 159
30. — C. Pissarro: Selfportrait, 1888. Pen and ink drawing, Public
Library, New York (S. P. Avery Coll.) 160-161
31. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's daughter Jeanne, about
1888. Drawing, Lucien Pissarro Coll., London .... 160-161
32.— C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's son Felix, about 1885.
Drawing, Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 160-161
33. — C. Pissarro : Portrait of the Artist's son Rodolphe, about 1884.
Drawing, Robert von Hirsch Coll., Basel 160-161
34. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's niece Nini, about 1884.
Drawing, Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 176-177
35. — C. Pissarro: Peasant Girl Sitting, about 1885. Drawing,
Lucien Pissarro Coll., London 176-177
36. — C. Pissarro: Peasant Girl, about 1885. Drawing, Lucien
Pissarro Coll., London 192-193
37. — C. Pissarro. Little Peasant Girl, about 1885. Drawing, John
Rewald Coll., New York 192-193
38. —Camille Pissarro with his sons Lucien and Felix in Knocke,
Belgium, 1894. Photograph 208-209
39. — Camille Pissarro in his Studio, about 1897. Photograph . . 208-209
40. — Camille Pissarro in his Studio, about 1897. Photograph . . 208-209
41. — Camille Pissarro with his wife, his son Paul-Emile and his
daughter Jeanne, working in his garden, about 1897. Photo-
graph 208-209
42. — Lucien Pissarro: Solitude. Woodcut, published in 1893 in
The Dial 217
43. — Camille Pissarro, Photograph, about 1895 224-225
44.— Claude Monet, Photograph 224-225
45. — Auguste Renoir, Photograph 224-225
46. — Paul Cezanne, Photograph 224-225
8
PAGE
47. — P. Bonnard: Ambroise Vollard's Gallery, Paris, rue Laffitte.
Drawing. (From left to right: Pissarro, Renoir, Vollard, a
customer, Bonnard and Degas.) 229
48.— C. Pissarro : Portrait of Paul Cezanne, 1874. Etching [D.13] . 240-241
49. — P. Cezanne: Portrait of Camille Pissarro, about 1873. Draw-
ing, Private Coll., England 240-241
50. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of Paul Cezanne, about 1874. Drawing,
Private Coll., France 240-241
51.— C. Pissarro: Portrait of Paul Cezanne, 1874. Painting [293],
Bobert von Hirsch Coll., Basel 240-241
52. — A. Renoir: Portrait of Paul Durand-Ruel, 1910. Painting,
Durand-Ruel Coll., Paris 256-257
53. — P. Cezanne: Portrait of Ambroise Vollard, 1899. Painting.
Formerly A. Vollard Coll., Paris 256-257
54. — Illustration for Daphnis and Chloe. Drawn by Camille and
cut on wood by Lucien Pissarro, about 1895 .... 257
55. — Les Travaux des Champs: Women gathering Wood. Drawn
by Camille and cut on wood by Lucien Pissarro, 1895 . . 271
56. — P. Gauguin: Jacob wrestling with the Angel, 1889. Painting,
Private Coll 272-273
57. — Lucien Pissarro: Portrait of Camille Pissarro. Woodcut . . 272-273
58. — Lucien Pissarro: Portrait of Camille Pissarro etching in his
Studio, about 1895. Pastel, Lucien Pissarro Coll., London . 288-289
59. — C. Pissarro: L'Hermitage a Pontoise, 1873. Painting [212],
Durand-Ruel Galleries, Paris 288-289
60. — P. Cezanne: L'Hermitage a Pontoise, about 1873. Painting,
Museum of Occidental Art, Moscow 288-289
61. — C. Monet: The Cathedral of Rouen, 1893. Painting, Private
Coll 288-289
62.— Photograph of the same Subject 288-289
63. — Lucien Pissarro: Roses d'Antan. Woodcut, published in
L'Image in 1896 301
64. — Facsimile of Camille Pissarro's letter dated Rouen, November
11, 1896 302-303
65. — C. Pissarro: La rue de l'Epicerie a Rouen, 1898. Painting
[1037]. Durand-Ruel Galleries, Paris 304-305
66. — Photograph of the same Subject 304-305
67. — C. Pissarro: Le Pont Corneille a Rouen, 1896. Painting
[962], Barret-Decap Coll., France 304-305
68. — Photograph of the same Subject 304-305
69.— C. Pissarro: The Roofs of Old Rouen, 1896. Painting [973],
formerly Ullstein Coll 304-305
70. — Photograph of the same Subject 304-305
71. — C. Pissarro: L' Avenue de l'Opera, Paris, 1896. Painting
[1026], Wildenstein Galleries, New York 304-305
72/ — Photograph of the same Subject 304-305
73. — C. Pissarro: La rue Saint-Honore, Paris, 1896, Painting
[1021], Musee de Reims, France 320-321
74. — Photograph of the same Subject 320-321
PAGE
75. — C. Pissarro: Le Marchd Saint- Jacques a Dieppe, 1901. Paint-
ing [1195], Barbee Coll., California 320-321
76. — Photograph of the same Subject 320-321
77. — C. Pissarro: Le Pont Neuf, Paris, 1902. Painting [1211],
Fine Arts Museum, Budapest 320-321
78. — Photograph of the same Subject, taken by the Artist's son
Rodolphe in 1902 from the window at which his father worked 320-321
79. — Camille Pissarro, Photograph, about 1895 320-321
80. — C. Pissarro: St. Urbain's Church at Troyes. Sketch from the
artist's notebook, 1898. Lucien Pissarro Coll., London . . 327
81. — C. Pissarro: Le Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, 1897. Painting
[not reproduced in the Catalogue of Pissarro's work]. Private
Coll., New York 336-337
82. — C. Pissarro: La Seine et le Louvre, Paris, 1901. Painting
[1160], Rudolf Staechelin Coll., Basel 336-337
83. — C. Pissarro: La Place du Vert Galant (Pont Neuf), Paris,
1902. Painting [1227], H. Duhem Coll., France . . . 336-337
84. — C. Pissarro: Selfportrait, about 1900. Painting [1114],
Rodolphe Pissarro Coll., France 336-337
85. — Lucien Pissarro: Girl with Geese. Woodcut, 1899 . . . 338
86. — Lucien Pissarro: La Belle au Bois dormant. Woodcut, about
1900 341
87. — Les Travaux des Champs: Girl with Cows. Drawn by Camille
and cut on wood by Lucien Pissarro, about 1902 . . . 351
88. — C. Pissarro: Selfportrait, 1903. Painting [1316], Tate Gal-
lery, London 352-353
89. — Camille Pissarro in 1897, Photograph 352-353
90. — Lucien Pissarro: Portrait of Camille Pissarro. Woodcut . . 360
With the exception of fig. 78 all the photographs of subjects painted by
Pissarro and Monet were taken in 1938. The photographs for figs. 68, 70,
72, 74 and 76 were taken from the very same hotel rooms from which
Camille Pissarro had worked.
The Editors of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Art News and The Menorah
Journal, as well as Wittenborn and Co., Publishers, generously lent the cuts
for the following reproductions :
Gazette des Beaux- Arts: figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 28, 29, 36, 37, 38,
39, 40, 42, 47, 50, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63 and 84.
Art News: figs. 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 and 78.
The Menorah Journal: figs. 43, 51 and 89.
Wittenborn and Co : figs. 23, 24 and 26
10
INTRODUCTION
Lucien Pissarro was twenty years old when he left his parents'
home to try his luck in England. Never before had a son of
Camille Pissarro been separated from him, and the father was
concerned that his eldest should not lack for affectionate advice.
In his almost daily letters the impressionist painter drew on his
vast experience in life and art to encourage, chide and solace the
young Lucien.
It was no easy matter for Lucien, shy and given to dreaming
as he was, to leave the house of his parents at Osny near Pontoise,
where his brothers and his sister spent their carefree youth in the
fields and meadows while their father noted with unconcealed joy
the capacities for observation and expression which he found in
each of them. Lucien himself had begun to draw at a very early
age and, when sent to work in Paris for a firm merchandising
English fabrics, he spent the evenings with his friend Louis Hayet
making drawings in the cafes and music halls. His mother, who
knew only too well the sufferings artists have to endure, had
wanted at all costs to prevent her eldest son from choosing his
father's "profession." However, the young man's employer soon
informed the parents that their boy, although in other respects a
fine fellow, would never make good in business. After this, Lucien
got a job working with hand-made plates for color impressions.
His parents finally decided, by the end of 1882, to send him to
England to learn the language. In London he found a position
with a music publisher, but continued to paint and draw. First he
lived at the home of his uncle, Phineas Isaacson, whose wife was
the half-sister of Camille Pissarro. Later he took a studio, gave
drawing lessons and devoted himself mostly to the art of wood
engraving.
11
Lucien Pissarro often came to France to spend months at a time
with his family, which meanwhile had settled in Eragny. But
even during these sojourns in France his correspondence with his
father was not interrupted. For almost every month Camille Pis-
sarro went to Paris for a few days to see dealers and collectors, to
take in the new exhibitions, to make purchases and to visit his
friends. At such times he wrote his son to inform him about every-
thing. There were also occasions when Lucien himself undertook
to go to the capital. His father, thus enabled to continue his work,
discussed with him by mail the paintings he was working on at
Eragny and sent him news of the children and their mother. This
correspondence, which began in 1883 and stopped only with the
death of Camille Pissarro twenty years later, was religiously
preserved by Lucien.
In permitting the letters he received from his father to appear,
Lucien Pissarro is faithful to his feeling for the man who put so
much of his wisdom and knowledge of art into these communica-
tions. What Camille Pissarro wrote his eldest son about art should
be invaluable to all those who care to be instructed by a great
master, and what he reported about his friends and associates can
hardly fail to interest whoever delights in seeing an epoch come to
life again in the account of one of its principal figures.
In fact, as Adolphe Tabarant has said, Camille Pissarro was the
letter writer of the impressionist group, for none of the painters
who made the movement great could write as Pissarro could, per-
haps because none of them loved to write as he. With Eugene
Delacroix and Vincent van Gogh, Camille Pissarro will take first
rank among those writer-painters who added to their marvels on
canvas pages which speak to us of their ideas, their struggles, their
daily life and their contemporaries. His lively expressions, his just
and subtly qualified observations, his good humor and gift for
precise description, make us understand how his intimate friend,
Octave Mirbeau, could say that in Camille Pissarro lived a hidden
poet.
Nothing could bring us closer to Camille Pissarro than the read-
ing of his letters; to add a single word to these writings would
only disturb the purity of his thought. The greatest kindness to
the dead, Francois Mauriac has said, would be not to kill them a
second time by lending them lofty attitudes. The greatest kindness
would be to bring them so close to us that they drop their pose.
12
If these documents reveal a man without any pose, they at the
same time give us a precise account of his situation in life, his
artistic development and the part he played among his friends
from the time the impressionist movement finally broke up — the
time at which this correspondence begins. This is the period in
which the old comrades who had fought together for so long, and
had by no means won their fight, wavered and become irresolute;
wanting to progress, each one strove to renew his art independ-
ently from the others. Doubt and discouragement seem to have
seized these audacious innovators. Some, like Cezanne, sought
refuge in total solitude, others, like Renoir and Monet, abandoning
their comrades, tried to exhibit at the official Salon, still others like
Gauguin, hoped to find new inspiration in far off countries, while
Pissarro turned to the new generation, anxious to guide it and
ready to accept in exchange a share of its ideas. To this new genera-
tion belonged his eldest son, and it was through his father that
Lucien came to be linked with van Gogh, Seurat, Signac, etc.
Camille Pissarro conquered these newcomers by his knowledge of
art, by his character and kindness. His counsels, dictated by a com-
plete disinterestedness, showed the young men around him that
he was not one of those who jealously keep to themselves the fruit
of their researches. On the contrary, Pissarro was anxious to help
others profit by his experience, convinced as he was that any truth
won by human effort should belong to all. This generous sentiment
explains the role he played among the young painters. No one
would advise, help, encourage as he could; though his criticism
was just, it was tempered by indulgence. In acting thus he endeav-
ored to transmit to the new generation the warmth with which his
first efforts had been welcomed, and doubtless he recalled many a
time the kindness with which he had been received by the old Corot
when, having just arrived from his native isle of St. Thomas in
the West Indies, he sought the advice of the master whose influence
is evident in Pissarro's early work.
Since the period when he began to paint, at first timidly, then
boldly, life had been hard for Camille Pissarro. After difficult years
of well sustained effort, the German invasion in 1870 chased him
from Louveciennes and forced him to flee to England with his
family. (Lucien was seven years old when he first crossed the
Channel.) Everything Pissarro owned and almost all of his paint-
ings were destroyed by the invaders. In London he joined Claude
13
Monet, and the two painters began to study the English landscap-
ists, being particularly attracted by the art of Turner. The young
art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who, too, had sought refuge in the
British capital, was introduced to them by Charles Daubigny and
encouraged them by buying some of their works. These purchases
were multiplied and regularized when Durand-Ruel and the two
painters returned to France. The dealer then began to be interested
in the work of their friends, Sisley, Degas, Renoir, and Manet, but
it was difficult to sell their pictures, and Durand-Ruel was often
obliged to suspend his purchases, thus exposing the artists to the
torments of uncertainty.1
Camille Pissarro's material situation was much more difficult
than that of his friends. His wife, a sturdy Frenchwoman of
peasant stock, bore him several children, who filled the house with
their boisterous play and innocent quarrels. In the midst of much
turmoil and burdened with cares, often misunderstood by his wife
— for the interminable succession of problems embittered her
character — Camille Pissarro, who so seldom experienced the joy
of knowing his family secure, accomplished the miracle of creating
works distinguished by their calm and beauty.
On his return from England, Pissarro had settled down at
Pontoise, where Cezanne soon joined him to work by his side and
profit by his advice. Cezanne, in order to study the clear, rich
matiere of his friend, faithfully copied a large canvas by Pissarro
presenting a view of Louveciennes. Perhaps we all come from Pis-
sarro— Cezanne said later — as early as 1865 he eliminated black,
dark brown and ochres, this is a fact. Paint only with the three
primary colors and their immediate derivatives, he told me . . .
In 1874 the series of impressionist exhibitions began. This was
the heroic period in which Renoir and Monet, Sisley and Degas,
Cezanne and Pissarro, encountered the ridicule of the public, the
disdain of the collectors, the grossness of the art critics, in which
they all endured insult and injury and continued to work, braving
laughter and misfortune. One can never praise enough the courage
of Camille Pissarro and his comrades, who never strayed from the
path they had taken and stoically accepted a situation which lit-
erally obliged them to create in the void.
1 The story of the Durand-Ruel Gallery can be found in the Archives de l'lmpres-
sionnisme published by Lionello Venturi. However, this work contains only a few of the
letters Camille Pissarro wrote to his dealer.
14
If a degree of selflessness is needed to undertake a work involv-
ing severe sufferings, how much more is required to continue for
many years an unbelievable effort which does not awaken the
slightest echo! To renounce praise one must have the strength to
overcome one's own doubts and to progress with no other guide
than oneself.
But in compensation Pissarro had the happiness of being visited
by Gauguin, who, after Cezanne, came to ask his advice and to
paint at his side. The traces of his apprenticeship as an impres-
sionist were soon to disappear from Gauguin's works, but many
years later, shortly before he died, he did justice to Pissarro, noting
in his Racontars d'un Rapin: If we observe the totality of Pissarro' s
works, we find there, despite the fluctuations, not only an extreme
artistic will which never lies, but what is more, an essentially
intuitive pure-bred art . . . He looked at everybody, you say! Why
not? Everyone looked at him, too, but denied him. He was one of
my masters and I do not deny him.
By those who were "looked at" by Camille Pissarro, Gauguin
meant particularly Seurat and Signac. It was precisely at the mo-
ment Pissarro came in contact with neo-impressionism, that his
correspondence with Lucien began. Confronted with a new truth,
Pissarro did not hesitate to change his mode of execution at the
risk of losing the few collectors who admired his former style.
But while he followed for a time, with characteristic na'ivet£, the
new path broken by Seurat, while he fervently supported the
younger man's scientific theories, he nevertheless began in 1887 to
modify the rigid execution required by pointillist divisionism, al-
though he was not yet ready to abandon divisionism itself. But
soon afterwards he admitted with his customary frankness that he
had erred in following the young innovators since the paintings he
had made in accordance with their methods no longer satisfied him.
His letters reveal his sucessive enthusiasms, hesitations, self-decep-
tions and new ardors.
Lucien Pissarro adopted neo-impressionism with his father and
was closely linked with the originators of the movement. He
worked at his father's side and was the first of Camille Pissarro's
sons to exhibit with him. When Lucien finally settled in London
and set up the press on which he published superb works illus-
trated with his own woodcuts or engravings of his father's draw-
ings, he called it the Eragny-Press in honor of the village where
15
his parents lived, Eragny being for him a symbol of sincere and
careful workmanship. Thus Lucien went his own way, painting,
drawing, working on his books in close collaboration with his wife,
introducing in his turn his only child to the delights of art.
Uninterruptedly the letters passed with their freight of ideas
between father and son. It is clear on reading these letters that, even
in London, Lucien was closer to Camille Pissarro than was any
other of the painter's children.
* * *
Camille Pissarro's letters to his son were not written with an
eye to publication. The selection which is presented here was di-
rected by Lucien Pissarro and the first part was scrupulously
checked by his brother Ludovic Rodolphe Pissarro, author of the
complete catalogue of his father's work. Thanks to their constant
collaboration it has been possible to avoid — despite inevitable cuts
— any distortion of their father's thought.
Compiled in France, the manuscript was put into final shape in
the United States, a circumstance on which may be blamed certain
omissions in the notes, for example, those concerning articles from
the newspapers and reviews mentioned by Camille Pissarro. These
items are not always available in American libraries. But despite
difficulties, detailed notes are presented to complete the manuscript
by filling out the author's allusions with the necessary facts.
In order not to weaken the documentary value of these letters,
the real names of the persons mentioned by Pissarro are not with-
held. Is it not indispensable to know those he approved, those whom
he disliked? One may accept or reject his judgments, his prejudices,
as one will, but no one could accuse him of maliciousness. His
frankness and talent authorized him to say openly what his
opinions were, even when they were unfavorable to some of his
contemporaries. In speech and in act the artist tended to assert the
very same convictions that are expressed in his letters.
To give more unity to the text, closing expressions have been
suppressed.1 For the same reason, the suppression of paragraphs,
sentences or whole letters has not been indicated by the marks of
omission customary in this kind of publication. The truth is that if
this course had not been followed, the multiplicity of necessary
dashes etc. would have become confused with the many punctua-
1 In order to avoid repetition, passages from different letters have sometimes been
united.
16
tion marks in Pissarro's letters which often set off perfectly the
painter's phrases.
The reproductions accompanying these letters were chosen with
a view to filling out the text and to enlarging on certain of Pis-
sarro's remarks. Here are certain of the works of Camille Pissarro
or of his son which are referred to in the correspondence, portraits
of Pissarro's children, photographs of the artist and of his friends
and other documents likely to familiarize the reader with the world
in which the painter moved.
Wherever it has been possible to identify those of the artist's
works to which he refers in the letters, the numbers corresponding
to these works in the catalogues of his paintings or engravings have
been indicated between brackets after the titles. For paintings,
these numbers refer to the Catalogue de Voeuvre de Camille Pis-
sarro, published in 1939 by one of the painter's sons, Ludovic
Rodolphe Pissarro, and by Lionello Venturi; for engravings, the
numbers preceded by a D refer to the third volume of the Peintre-
Graveur, Catalogue des gravures de Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, pub-
lished by Loys Delteil in 1 923.
Circumstances have prevented this book from appearing first in
French, the language in which the letters were written. In pre-
senting this book after many difficulties, I cannot but think of how
much I owe to Lucien and Esther Pissarro for their constant help,
and also to my wife for her untiring collaboration, especially in
assisting me in the supervision of the translation.
John Rewald
17
CAMILLE PISSARRO'S CHILDREN:
Lucien was born on February 20th, 1863. He died in England
on July 11, 1944.
A daughter Jeanne, called Minette, born in 1865, died at the
age of nine.
Georges was born on November 22nd, 1871. He paints under
the pseudonym of Manzana.
Felix, born on July 24th, 1874, died in England in 1897. At
home he was called Titi. He signed his pictures : Jean Roch.
Ludovic Rodolphe was born on November 21st, 1878. He was
sometimes called Piton-fleuri by his father. As a painter he is
known as Ludovic-Rodo.
Jeanne, born on August 27th, 1881, is always referred to in
these letters as Cocotte.
Paul-Emile was born on August 22nd, 1884. He was nick-
named Guingasse. His paintings are signed Paulemile.
THE LETTERS
// you speak of things without loving par-
tiality what you say is not worth repeating.
GOETHE
18 8 3
OSNY NEAR PONTOISE
JANUARY, 1885
My dear Lucien,
First we got your telegram, the next day your letter came, and
with the following mail your post card. Useless to mention that
we had been waiting impatiently for a word from you announcing
your arrival. We are very happy to learn that everything went
well. I hope that you will continue to communicate with us regu-
larly. Try to keep constantly in mind the fact that you have been
presented with an excellent opportunity to learn the English lan-
guage; for my part, despite the difficulties, I shall do all I can to
help you in this task.
What you observed, and mentioned in your letter, interests me
much, though I know the route well, having taken it before. I
recall perfectly those multicolored houses, and the desire I had at
the time to interrupt my journey and make some interesting
studies. But it would be a long trip indeed if one stopped at every
attractive town or village, at every beautiful motif — although a
painter could want nothing better than to be able to stop and then
go on his way and always go on and stop.
We are all quite well, including the children ; your mother is
very busy and I continue to jog along surrounded with my un-
finished paintings and drawings, seeking the rare bird whose plum-
age is resplendent with all the colors of the rainbow, whose song
is musical and pure; perfection, as Degas would say, why not! —
Don't forget to draw.
21
OSNY, FEBRUARY 20, 1833
My dear son,
You and Esther * have been to the National Gallery, you have
seen the Turners,2 yet you don't mention them. Can it be that the
famous painting The Railway, The Burial of the Painter Wilkie,
the astonishing Seascape, at the Kensington Museum, the View of
Saint Mark in Venice, the little sketches retouched with water-
colors of fish and fishing equipment, etc., did not impress you?
I do not budge from here, I work as much as I can on the land-
scapes. I already began and am at work on my picture of The
Market [6 1 5] which I have changed completely. I work now and
then on sketches for my exhibition, although I can hardly count
on having it, for the political situation is so bad that we have to
be prepared for the worst eventualities. The future is not rosy. In
any case one hardly has leisure for painting when one feels the
nation fighting to safeguard the republican government which it
cost so much blood to establish.
OSNY, FEBRUARY 28, 1883
My dear son,
So now you are going to wear tails for the first time. It is a good
thing you have the clothes. You will have embarrassments enough
in an entirely new milieu, with strange customs and ways of be-
havior. What wonderful things to observe !
How I regret not to have seen the Whistler show; I would have
liked to have been there as much for the fine drypoints as for the
setting, which for Whistler has so much importance 5 he is even a
bit too pretentious for me, aside from this I should say that for the
room white and yellow is a charming combination. The fact is that
we ourselves made the first experiments with colors : the room in
which I showed was lilac, bordered with canary yellow. But we
poor little rejected painters lack the means to carry out our con-
1 Esther Isaacson, like her sisters Alice and Amelie and her brother Alfred, were
cousins of Lucien, who when in London, lived for a time with their parents, Phineas
Isaacson and his wife. The latter was Camille Pissarro,s half-sister. Amdlie Isaacson
lived in Paris with her grandmother, the painter's mother.
1 Pissarro, who greatly admired Turner, had made a careful study of his paintings
while in England during the war of 1870.
22
cepts of decoration. As for urging Durand-Ruel 1 to hold an ex-
hibition in a hall decorated by us, it would, I think, be wasted
breath. You saw how I fought with him for white frames, and
finally I had to abandon the idea. No! I do not think that Durand
can be won over. —
Whistler makes drypoints mostly, and sometimes regular etch-
ings, but the suppleness you find in them, the pithiness and delicacy
which charm you derive from the inking which is done by Whistler
himself j no professional printer could substitute for him, for inking
is an art in itself and completes the etched line. Now we would like
to achieve suppleness before the printing. I saw two prints ex-
hibited in Paris a year or two ago; they were rather delicate,
meager and thin-looking, one would have to see a whole collection
in order to judge them, for doubtless he has done some that are
first rate.
I reread your postscript on aesthetics. I wouldn't want to be an
aesthete, at least like those across the Channel. Aestheticism is a
kind of romanticism more or less combined with trickery, it means
breaking for oneself a crooked road. They would have liked to
make something like that out of impressionism, which really should
be nothing more than a theory of observation, without entailing
the loss of fantasy, freedom, grandeur, all that makes for great art.
But not eccentricity to make sensitive people swoon.
PARIS, MARCH 3, 1883
My dear Lucien,
Monet has opened his show first 2 — a great artistic success, very
well organized, not too many canvases, forty at most, and well
spaced. It is a well deserved success, for Monet has shown some
marvelous things. We shall see if the public will acclaim his show;
if not, it will not be because he lacks talent.8
Durand tells me that it will be my turn in May, the very month
1 Since 1871 Durand-Ruel had regularly purchased works of Degas, Monet, Pissarro,
Renoir and Sisley.
* Durand-Ruel had organized for the first time a series of one-man shows of im-
pressionist painters; in March, Monet, in April, Renoir, in Mar, Pissarro, and Sisley in
June.
1 Very discontented with his exhibition, Monet, five days after the opening, referred
to the show as a "flop" in a letter to Durand-Ruel.
23
in which he will open the show in London. The young clerk M.
Mariotte will be charged with this task, and I do not have much
confidence in him.
I set out again for Osny tomorrow, Sunday, without a penny,
for Durand was only able to give me the sum I sent you. I do not
have to warn you to be discreet in speaking of Durand-Ruel to
Dechamps * or anybody else, for people are rather envious of him;
so be prudent. Monet says this is just a bad moment which must
pass. Well, we shall see.
PARIS, SATURDAY, MARCH, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I have been in Paris for several days.
Durand-Ruel has confided to me something which I cannot say
I found surprising. You know the young clerk Mariotte who was to
give me letters of introduction for you and organize our show in
London. The young man has just skipped abroad with 300,000
francs' worth of jewelry which a jeweler had entrusted to him. I
do not have to tell you not to recognize him if you encounter him.
Careful. —
Duret 2 is here. I have not seen him yet but I hope to meet him
at Monet's show. I will speak of you to him.
OSNY, MARCH 15, 1885
My dear Lucien,
You do indeed show strength of will in harnessing yourself to
English, nothing but English, and then we shall see. . . . Good,
but for your enjoyment — and your future, too, who knows? — do
not give up drawing, draw often, always from nature, and when-
ever possible consult the primitives. — If you could only be per-
suaded that no other activity is so intelligent and agreeable. What
1 An art dealer in New Bond Street, London.
* Theodore Duret, friend and ardent admirer of Manet was, like Zola, one of the
first to be interested in the impressionist painters and to defend them in the press.
Later he published a Histoire de l'Impressionnisme, the only one written by an intimate
friend of the painters.
24
would be perfect would be for you to become quite mad about art;
Sundays and holidays would then become days of real happiness —
you would await them with impatience, — this will not come of
itself, you have to feel it.
Gauguin came to spend last Sunday with us, he made two
sketches.1 He is completely taken with your still life, as well as
with the landscapes you began, they were on the right track.
Guillaumin also found your works really fine; they are superior
to much that is done by many a painter with pretentions. . . .
Monet's show, which is marvelous, has not made a penny. A
poor idea to have one-man shows. The newspapers, knowing that a
dealer is behind it, do not breathe a word, they speak of the fright-
ful canvases on the rue Vivienne, the Cercle St. Arnaud,2 etc. It is
very discouraging. The fact is that Delacroix, Millet, Corot, Tas-
saert, were only accepted after struggles and combats. People love
only the mediocre.
PARIS, MARCH 29, 1885
My dear Lucien,
Tomorrow I leave for Osny to return Saturday for the opening
of Renoir's show. I saw Duret who brought me news of you. I am
much pleased by the good impression you made on Duret. We
talked a good deal about the etchings. It was decided, in principle,
to do something in England. As I remarked to Duret, the whole
problem is to have what will interest his English public of col-
lectors. I went through the engravings I have ready with the ex-
ception of three or four things; these will not be sufficient. I should
like to get busy; as soon as I can buy some coppers, I will begin a
series of drypoints from nature. Certain corners of Pontoise and
Osny ought to be done.
Our poor friend Manet is terribly sick. He has been completely
poisoned by allopathic medecine.8 He has a gangrenous leg; this
1 Paul Gauguin, then still a Parisian stockbroker, had entered art as a collector of
impressionist paintings and thus came in contact with Camille Pissarro. When Gauguin
began to paint, it was Pissarro who got his works admitted to the exhibitions of the
impressionist group. During his stay at Osny in 1883 Gauguin painted the entrance
to the village at Pissarro's side. See figs. 6 and 7 .
* Galleries where official or commercial art works were exhibited.
* Pissarro was an ardent believer in the virtues of homeopathic medicine.
25
condition results from his having taken tremendous doses of
spurred rye. We are losing a great painter and a man of charm.
PARIS, APRIL 2, 1883
My dear son,
Renoir opened his exhibition on the first ; on the evening before,
the press and the Friends of the Arts held a reception. I had dis-
patched a special letter to your uncle Alfred who was very flattered.
The next day he took me to hear the Concert Colonne at the Cha-
telet. First we lunched and then went to the hall. There was a fine
program ! Schumann, Bizet (new to me) , Berlioz (ditto) . — I can
scarcely express how I marveled at the Hamlet and Romeo et Juli-
ette of Berlioz. — He belongs with Delacroix, with Shakespeare, he
is of the same family, he has the mark of these men of genius. He
is prodigious in movement, imagination, strangeness, vigor, deli-
cacy, sense of contrast, he is terrible and suave.
I have been invited to dine with Duret, de Bellio,1 Monet and
Renoir.
OSNY, APRIL 10, 1885
My dear Lucien,
The weather is superb except for a very keen wind which causes
me to lose much time. — I am doing a portrait of your mother in
pastel [l 565] , it seems it is not adequate as a likeness, it is too old,
too red, not fine enough, in short, it won't do. This surprises me
not at all. You know that everyone accepts the one I made pretty
obvious, but that is not much good either.
I am almost ready for my show. It is going to be a lot of trouble
getting my pictures from the collectors, and it will involve some
expense. Renoir has a superb show, a great artistic success, of
course, for here you can't count on more than that. I shall appear
sad, tame and lusterless next to such eclat. Well, I have done my
best.
I believe our exhibition in London has gone with the wind, the
1 The Rumanian doctor, de Bellio, was intimate with the impressionists and owned
an important collection of their works.
26
disappearance of Durand's clerk changes everything. ... I am
making drypoints to be ready for a future show in England.
The children are in pretty good health. . . . All of them draw,
and the drawings always are to be sent to Lucien. But I deceive
them about this, for otherwise my letters would be enormous and
costly. However there are times when I am tempted to send you
their fantastic landscapes, terrible horsemen, frightful massacres,
in which warriors continue to battle even when they have lost their
heads j here is bravura pushed to the limit, people running like
Hop-o'-my-thumb, here is an incredible Hoffmanesque world of
fantasy ! I should be happy if these youngsters gave as much atten-
tion to their studies as they do to their drawings.
OSNY, APRIL 18, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I am ready [for the Durand-Ruel show] , and I am discontented.
I will not exhibit my ink drawings, I shall only show important
works. I shall foDow the example of Monet and Renoir who did
not show more than fifty well chosen canvases, which thus were
well spaced 5 it was a good idea, and, incidentally, brought success.
I am sad enough in my pictures, there is no point in wearying still
more with a lot of little knick-knacks which can have little interest
to strangers. — My doubts increase as the moment nears. I saw the
etchings Whistler sent the Salon, they are splendid, correctly
drawn, strong.
OSNY, APRIL 22, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I finally received your long letter of eight pages. It is stamped
"London" and dated the 15th, and yet only got here on the 18th,
second delivery. Unquestionably it was opened by the postal au-
thorities, for the envelope is smudged. One has only to read such
or such a newspaper to be suspected and put on the index. I would
not be surprised if something like that were responsible for the
lateness of your letter.
I expected to leave today for Paris, my canvases are packed, and
27
I wanted to spend from the 20th to the 24th seeing my collectors,
owners of my works, to choose the most interesting pictures, but
our hopes are often thwarted. I see that I shall not be able to leave
until Sunday, thus I shall have only two days in which to make my
selection, and this will not suffice. I also counted on printing dur-
ing my stay in Paris a series of drypoints done here from nature.1
But our maid quit, and that upset everything.
Yesterday I got your last letter. It arrived on time. I suppose that
the postal authorities are reassured about our intentions and see
that they were on the wrong track.
P.S. I am in Paris. Renoir told me that Durand-Ruel is showing
our works in London ; the show is supposed to have opened yester-
day. It must be on Bond Street; find out.
PARIS, APRIL 24, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I find it curious that Durand should have used [in London]
white frames for my pictures, when here he won't permit it under
any circumstances. — I should have liked to see the exhibition my-
self. What you report about the way the pictures were crowded
together is terrible. We are not guilty of such lapses here. It is true
that if the tapestries are that frightful official red, there is no rem-
edy. Yes, Whistler is right, here is another convention which must
be demolished.
Duret, Gonse (of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts) , Burty, Hirsch,
the painter, etc., have opened an exhibition of Japanese prints at
Petit's; it is simply marvelous. I find in the art of this astonishing
people nothing strained, a calm, a grandeur, an extraordinary
unity, a rather subdued radiance which is nevertheless brilliant;
what astounding balance, and what taste !
1 So far Pissarro had no printing press of his own. It was only during his visits to
Paris that he could occasionally get a few proofs of his plates printed at the studios
of Degas or Jacque or at the establishments of Salmon or Deldtre, the etching printers.
The impressions of this period are therefore rather scarce; some of them, in fact, bear
in the artist's handwriting a memorandum, imprime par Degas or imprime par Jacque
28
PARIS, MAY 2, 1885
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you Le Figaro, you will read M. Wolff's stupid
piece on our poor friend Manet.1 I do not have to tell you how
indignant I am at the manner in which this gentleman treats the
pure-bred artist who shed such glory on this country in an epoch
dominated by commercialism. The article in L'Intransigeant is
very fine, very just, and worthy of its subject, but the artist's works
tell us more about him than anything the journalists can write.
My show opened Monday evening; many visitors, despite the
fatigue everyone felt who had spent the day at the opening of the
official Salon.
Am I happy? Gracious, no, my pictures don't get across. — I have
been paid many compliments ; but I do not compliment myself.
Aside from two or three things, the show is weak. Enough said on
this subject.
I shall leave Paris on Friday, in the afternoon. — Thursday, I
am going to Manet's funeral.
PARIS, MAY 4, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I am leaving for Pontoise this afternoon, and am bringing a
maid with me. When I arrive there your mother will leave to see
my show. I hope it will please her.
You will see in L'Intransigeant the account of the burial of our
lamented Manet. Antonin Proust 2 said some words full of emo-
tion; the newspaper, which is biased, called his speech undistin-
guished, but everybody said it perfectly expressed their feelings.
Duret left today for London. He promised to look you up; he
will tell you about my exhibition. It goes without saying that I
1 Albert Wolff, famous art critic of Le Figaro, was completely hostile to the impres-
sionists whom he referred to as "madmen." It may be noted, however, that Manet
began his portrait, but did not finish it. In his obituary piece on the painter, A. Wolff
granted that he had left "several superior works," and summed up Manet's importance
as follows: "Manet in the future will be valued more for what he attempted than for
what he achieved."
1 An intimate friend of Manet, then Minister of Fine Arts, who had obtained the
Legion of Honor for the painter.
29
received not a few compliments. The ones I value most came from
Degas who said he was happy to see my work becoming more and
more pure. The etcher Bracquemond, a pupil of Ingres, said — pos-
sibly he meant what he said — that my work shows increasing
strength. I will calmly tread the path I have taken, and try to do
my best. At bottom, I have only a vague sense of its rightness or
wrongness. I am much disturbed by my unpolished and rough
execution 5 I should like to develop a smoother technique which,
while retaining the old fierceness, would be rid of those jarring
notes which make it difficult to see my canvases clearly except when
the light falls in front. There lies the difficulty — not to speak of
drawing.
M. Tassin of Pontoise, who works for the railroad, asked
[Durand-Ruel] the price of two still-lifes. He was shown the
price list: 1,200 francs each. He jumped! He met me as I was
leaving the exhibition, showed great surprise, gave a few criti-
cisms of my work, and then made several observations which
showed him to be a man skillful at handling figures. He said to me :
"But do you know that you have 300,000 francs' worth of paint-
ings in there?"
"Really! I never computed their value, I didn't know! And how
do you know?"
"Simple! they gave me the book of prices, I instantly added up
the first column, that was so much; there were five pages, I com-
puted the average, that gave the result."
Isn't that wonderful? And what respect!
OSNY, MAY 9, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I see from your letter that your mother is influenced by the art
criticism of the newspapers, but if we were to listen to the ideas of
all those gentlemen who express their feelings about us, we would
have our hands full. I stoically ignore all that. — I well remember
that around 1874, Duret, who is above reproach, Duret himself
said to me with all sorts of circumlocutions that I was on the wrong
track, that everyone thought so, including my best friends, those
30
most interested in me.1 I admit that when alone, with nobody to
prompt me, I reproached myself similarly, — I plumbed myself, —
decision was terribly hard. — Should I, yes or no, persevere [or
seek] another way? I concluded in the affirmative, I took into ac-
count the risks of the unknown, and I was right to stick.
Huysmans, the naturalist author, has just sent me his book
VArt Moderne, — it is a collection of his pieces on the Salon and
our exhibitions between 1879 and 1882. I read his book with ex-
treme interest. He has a real feeling for our approach. Except for
a few points of disagreement, which I mentioned to him in a letter,
I share his view. For a while he considered us sick, touched with
the disease that attacks painters, "Daltonism." Little by little he
has come to take the position that we are cured, and he calls us the
only painters of the moment, convinced that we represent the re-
generation of French art which had reached its last gasp. — M.
Huysmans is exceedingly kind to me in particular. Such encour-
agement is an incentive to do better work. I will send you the book
as soon as I go to Paris, for I will ask Gauguin to buy a copy and
mail it to you. You will also be very pleased to find in reading the
book that you are not alone in your enthusiasm for Degas who is
without a doubt the greatest artist of the period.
OSNY, MAY 13, 1883
My dear Lucien,
Your mother is not back yet, I have not heard from her, and I
don't know when she will return. I cannot tell you whether or not
my exhibition has made a noise in Paris; here in Osny, I devote
myself exclusively to painting, and besides I feel little desire to
read those eternal criticisms. If in London we are reproached for
showing unfinished work — here we are accused of having sick
eyes, "the sickness of painters who see blue." Even Huysmans de-
plores in his book this disease of the visual organ, however on the
1 These letters of Duret, found in Pissarro's papers, urge the painter to abandon
the impressionist group and to try to be admitted to the official Salon where his work
would be seen by forty thousand people. Duret advises him to choose for the Salon
"paintings which have a subject, something resembling composition, pictures not too
freshly painted . . ." Pissarro did not heed this advice, but Monet, Sisley and Renoir
were to follow it after 1880 and show at the official Salon.
31
other hand he declares that now we are cured. You will see, alas,
that like all the critics, under the pretext of naturalism he makes
literary judgments and most of the time sees only the subject of
the picture. He puts Caillebotte x above Monet. Why? because he
painted carpenters, boatmen, etc. . . . But then Delacroix is noth-
ing, the ceiling of Apollo nothing !
We can only have a good exhibition if we ourselves arrange it.
The Paris exhibition is pretty good though the hall is poor. I
placed the pictures quite far apart. — I am fairly well satisfied with
my arrangements, Durand gave me complete freedom. I have two
rooms of white frames, the effect is good. My Market [1561], on
which I worked so much since last year, is splendid in a white
frame. Today's Ulntransigeant mentions it. It is taken for a pas-
tel. I haven't a single pastel, oh yes, one, a tiny one in a dark
corner. They confuse everything, gouache, tempera, oil. What
connoisseurs!
OSNY, MAY 21, 1883
I recognize fully that you do not draw well, my dear Lucien.
I told you any number of times that it is essential to have known
forms in the eye and in the hand. It is only by drawing often,
drawing everything, drawing incessantly, that one fine day you
discover to your surprise that you have rendered something in its
true character. Don't despair. If you could work evenings in the
free art schools where there are nude models you would make prog-
ress. There must be low-priced schools in London j here there would
be no difficulty. You ought to find out from Duret. I do not know
if I can go to London this year. This would require money and
things are always pretty tight.
1 A painter who showed with the impressionists. His wealth enabled him to buy many
pictures from them. His important collection was to be left to the state.
* The article, written by Edmond Jacques, says of the exhibition: "There are many
pastels which are marvels. First I must mention The Harvest [13 SS] whose perspective
is so deep and harmony so warm, the Market at Pontoise [1361] full of life and move-
ment, and the Girl Tending a Cow [1362] a woman so naive and a cow so admirably
drawn. This is a rare collection."
32
1 — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's son Lucim, 1874.
1 ■
—
\T~ *
•
•
j
^^ML
■"*
1
4
SABS
1
-4»
*
2. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's son Lucien, 1883.
3. — C. Pissarro: Marketscene. Pen and ink sketch, about 1883.
PARIS, MAY 28, 1883
My dear Lucien,
My show is over.1 Sisley's opens next. I am helping him prepare
for it.
I am going to look at houses at Meaux. Sisley told me that the
country is marvelous.
1 While his show was still on, Pissarro had received a letter from Durand-Ruel say-
ing: "1 intend to send three of your pictures to an exhibition which opens on July 1st
in Boston. We should try to revolutionize the new world simultaneously with the old."
33
PARIS, JUNE 4, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I have not been able to write you, for during the last five or six
days I have been seeking what appears to be unfindable — a maid.
At last I caught one on the wing, I sent her off to Osny, she is noth-
ing remarkable, a simple lass just arrived from the country. Ap-
parently she won't do — worse luck; for to find her cost me all my
time, time which I might have employed looking for a town to
replace Pontoise.
Yesterday I went to Meaux, spent the day there, and returned
to Paris in the evening. — It was terribly hot, so I looked over only
one section of the town, which is quite large. But I did visit the
outskirts. The city itself, at first glance, has little character: the
market is frightful, an immense modern shed, built like a railway
station, less interesting than the Halles in Paris, whose proportions
give it character. True, there were no tradesmen, from whom it,
of course, derives its qualities : in short it did not impress me. The
cathedral is superb. Some parts of the outskirts are attractive, with
very interesting views of the cathedral, but in regard to types I
fear it doesn't come up to Pontoise. — One would have to return
two or three times. As for the houses, I found only two, and neither
is any good. It is very difficult to get all the details on the spot. —
Your mother insists that I am staying too long in Paris, and I agree
with her, but two things are requisite for conducting a proper
search: going from one place to another and time to waste. — I
went to Ecouen, Villiers-le-Bel, it doesn't suit me. — We did con-
sider Versailles, but I am much afraid of that false capital, no types
to interest me, I should much prefer Meaux.
I can see no harm in drawing the nude, the figure, if you are
permeated with the idea of not following Legros x in the field of
Greek theory, and are resolved not to seek formulas, not to be in-
fluenced by apt pupils, not to fix the proportions in advance, in a
word if you can learn to see for yourself and to draw without rely-
ing on a ready made system.
Tell Legros who you are. He knows me. If need be, I can write
to him or get someone else to recommend you. You could get
Duret, who must be in London, to introduce you.
1 Alphonse Legros, a French painter who became a British subject, taught in London
in a painting academy, the Slade School, which Lucien was about to enter.
34
OSNY, JUNE 13, 1885
My dear Lucien,
I mentioned to Degas that you are thinking of taking Legros'
course in drawing. Degas says that there is one way of escaping
Legros' influence, the method is simply this : it is to reproduce, in
your own place, from memory, the drawing you make in class. I
suppose that you begin by making a sketch of the whole figure;
when you get home you prepare your sketch and try to do again
from memory what you did from nature. The next day, in class,
you finish a part of your figure; at home you go on with the work
from memory. Little by little you finish both studies simultane-
ously, then you compare them. You will have your difficulties, but
a moment will come when you will be astonished by the ease with
which you retain forms, and, curiously enough, the observations
you make from memory will have far more power and be much
more original than those you owe to direct contact with nature.
The drawing will have art — it will be your own — this is a good
way of escaping slavish imitation.
You speak with some severity of the Academy exhibition. It is
very likely that you are right, but one must not make the mistake
of judging English art in the way French art is sometimes judged
here, as if it were represented by Bastien Lepage and Gervex. Re-
member, England has Keene,1 he does not exhibit, he is not fash-
ionable, and that is everything. England, like France, is rotten to
the core, she knows only one art, the art of throwing sand in your
eyes.
OSNY, JUNE 16, 1883
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday Gauguin came to spend the holidays and make some
studies. He told me that he was working on a project which may
materialize some time, the project is to make models for impres-
sionist tapestries. He asked me to try my hand at this, and do some-
thing revolutionary. Naturally I accepted, mostly with the idea of
1 Charles Keene, watercolorist, draftsman, caricaturist and engraver, held in England
a position comparable to Daumier's in France.
35
opening up a field for you. Evidently this is an easily exploited
field of industrial art, only one must draw, and draw often.
When something develops I shall let you know.
OSNY, JULY 5, 1883
My dear Lucien,
Today I go to Paris with Gauguin whose leave is up $ I shall
try to sell a few canvases, for Durand leaves us to our fate. At the
same time I shall on the 1 2th remove my things from the rue des
Trois Freres. I think I shall much regret no longer having one foot
in Paris. — This was very useful for me, since it enabled me to keep
up with everything that concerns painting. But we must do the
best we can.
In your last letter you asked me to inform you about the views
of Clemenceau,1 and thus clear up a discussion you had. My dear
boy, it is naive to bet on any man in the Chamber, if you have ever
done that. — You were both right. This would seem to be a joke,
but no, it is the plain fact. — You were right in a way since Cle-
menceau did indeed come before the electorate with a very ad-
vanced, even a socialist program, but this does not make Alfred
wrong in characterizing Clemenceau as a Jacobin, a "deep-dyed"
— to quote Le Figaro — radical, but nevertheless no socialist. That
is to say he is a politician who wants to come to power on the basis
of a progressive program. Don't trust even his radicalism, he is a
sort of Gladstone, — he isn't worth much. Moreover, if you read
the article "Revision" in the copy of Le Proletaire which I am
sending you, you will see what we think of him and of all the cele-
brated republicans who promised so much; but don't worry, they
give little. — The gentlemen who resigned from their club on ac-
count of Clemenceau are extremely naive, for he is a bourgeois
deputy. You will think that I have changed and indeed I did, the
moment I saw that what I had considered pure gold was dross.
Right now all the radical deputies are campaigning for revision
1 Clemenceau, then socialist deputy from Montmartre, had just delivered a speech in
the Chamber of Deputies in "defense of the Republic against the old regime, advocat-
ing the emancipation of the worker, which would lead to his education and develop-
ment, supply him with tools for work, and give him in his turn a place in the sun."
2 This might be an allusion to a revision of the mode of electing municipal councils
which was then being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies.
36
although they know it will come to nothing, since the Senate will
not permit it. They have one method of attack which the socialists
urge them to employ, this is to resign en masse; there would be
new elections, and convinced socialists would get in — but there's
no danger that they will take this step, they are too afraid of not
being re-elected. The whole affair is not serious.
Are you drawing? — Don't waste time, try to improve your
work, remember the drawings of Holbein you copied, he is the real
master. Don't strive for skillful line, strive for simplicity, for the
essential lines which give the physiognomy. Rather incline towards
caricature than towards prettiness.
I think it would be better for you to make pastels than to make
gouaches for a bit, since you have made much progress with pastel.
I looked again at the head you did of a peasant, it is not bad.
PARIS, JULY, 1883
My dear Lucien,
You will receive a check, probably on Tuesday or Wednesday,
from Durand; he now is a little less pinched for cash; he seems to
be very satisfied with the way the exhibition of our works now
being held in Rotterdam is going. He claims that the worst is over.
Unhappily the political future is not rosy, as you can see for your-
self. From England you are able to see the totality of facts in a bet-
ter perspective. Clearly it is not the socialists who are dominating
events, but the Orleanists and Bonapartists with their usual in-
trigues— and hence, the capitalists. This winter there will probably
be a clash, they may attempt a coup d'etat; since Chambord's death
the army has been split into two camps. What will result from all
this we do not know. I think that these developments will favor the
republicans, let us hope so in any case. In the meantime artists will
have to endure these circumstances; perhaps the best thing to do is
to find a place in industry while waiting for better times.
While you have the time — time should not be wasted — make
drawings; it will do you more good than you can imagine. If you
just made copies of bas reliefs or Egyptian statues, but did them
with scrupulous care, you would make progress. It is best to select
simple things like a sphinx, some oxen, etc., there must be some
good things of this type at the Kensington Museum, not photo-
37
graphs, the originals themselves. Thus you will get the most per-
fect insight into the problem of simplification. The primitives
aren't bad for this either, on the contrary: Holbein, and do not
neglect nature.
You need only assert your will. Here they complain that France
no longer occupies the position it held in industrial art, and they
try to retrieve the lost superiority, but the measures they take to
achieve this end are self-contradicting, for they make talentless,
timid, humdrum artists professors of drawing.
OSNY, JULY 22, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I haven't done much work outdoors this season, the weather was
unfavorable, and I am obsessed with a desire to paint figures which
are difficult to compose with. I have made some small sketches;
when I have revolved the problem in my mind, I shall get to work.
I had Nini x pose as a butcher's girl at the Place du Grand Martoy
[615]; the painting will have, I hope, a certain naive freshness.
The background, that's the difficulty. We shall see. As for my
large canvases, I have two which you know, pictures I meditated
on for two years. My Apple-Eaters [695] I worked on a good deal,
I should like to finish it by April ! 2
I don't have a copy of Abbe Mouret's Transgression [Zola's
novel], I shall pick one up and send it on to Esther, but she will
not like the book, she has lived too long in England to appreciate
a work of this sort. It is too strongly naturalistic.
OSNY, JULY 25, 1883
My dear Lucien,
What you tell me about your activities in Regent Park is all
very well, but you have to understand that little bits of drawings
are not enough. These must be made, of course, for you must ac-
custom yourself to seeing the ensemble in a flash and to rendering
1 Lucien's cousin, daughter of his mother's sister.
2 This large canvas, SO x SO inches, was actually finished in 1886.
38
its character at once, but you also have to grow in strength and
attack in a serious way bigger things with firm contours, like what
you began here. — It is good to draw everything, anything. —
When you have trained yourself to see a tree truly, you know how
to look at the human figure. Specialization is not necessary, it is
the death of art, whose requirements are exactly opposed to those
of industry. — Once again I say, you can't waste time drawing
landscapes conscientiously. The classroom is good only when you
are strong enough not to be influenced.
I know Legros quite well, Monet and I had lunch with him
when we were in London [in 1870], he may remember me, he
may have totally forgotten me. I could get you introduced to him,
but I fear his influence. You must follow Degas' advice to the let-
ter, and with an iron will} it is much more important than you
imagine^ all the more so since I want you to be protected against
Legros, he has lost sight of much that he once did here, or so I am
told. How much does he want? Write me.
You wrote that there is a rather simple old fellow who has
an Academy but is rather lax in running it. This would be just
right, for, let me repeat, I fear Legros has a preconceived method.
Watercolor is not especially difficult, but I must warn you to
steer clear of those pretty English watercolorists, so skillful and
alas so weak, and so often too truthful. Look at the little wash
drawings of Turner. But the trick cannot be learned, you can do
it when you know how to draw. Oil is much more difficult, but
when you master it, you can do with it what you want to do. Think
of the watercolors of Delacroix, Jongkind. Who else? Degas, Manet
— with the rest it is a technique, though there are some who bring
talent to it. When you have occasion to, look at the Persians, the
Chinese, the Japanese. Derive your taste from those who are truly
strong, for you must always go to the source : in painting to the
primitives, in sculpture to the Egyptians, in miniature to the Per-
sians, etc., etc.
Please read the defense of Louise Michel.1 — It is really remark-
1 Louise Michel, a famous revolutionary, sentenced to lifelong exile in New- Cale-
donia after the Commune, pardoned in 1880, had just been arraigned for having incited
unemployed workers to pillage. In court she declared: "If there is guilt from your
point of view, then I am guilty, and I alone. I incited all my friends. It is I who
should be punished, I alone. I live only for the revolution. I will always work for it. It
is the revolution that I salute. May it rise on the shoulders of men and not on a world
in ruins."
39
able. This woman is extraordinary. She renders ridicule harmless
by the force of her feeling and humanity.
During the summer of 188), Lucien Pissarro visited his family
in France, and, before returning to London, spent several days in
Rouen where his father was working. The correspondence was con-
tinued in the fall, after he returned to England.
ROUEN, OCTOBER 11, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I am hard at work, at least I work as much as the weather per-
mits.— I began a work the motif of which is the river bank in the
direction of St. Paul's Church [606]. Looking towards Rouen I
have before me all the houses on the quays lighted by the morning
sun, in the background the stone bridge, to the left the island with
its houses, factories, boats, launches, to the right a mass of pinnaces
of all colors.
In the evening I work at Le Cours-la-Reine on the motif you
know about [602] . Yesterday, not having the sun, I began another
work on the same motif in grey weather, only I looked more to the
right [603].
I must leave you for my motif. I have a room on the street. I
shall start on a view of the street in fog for it has been foggy every
morning until eleven o'clock — noon. It should be interesting, the
square in the fog, the tramways, the goings and comings [608,
609].
Until next time, then, and work with ardor. You know that to
succeed one must work hard. It is a good idea, while you are at
leisure in London, to keep this in mind, for do we know how long
this freedom will last? Draw more and more often, — remem-
ber Degas. — If you want to make copies of the primitives, there
are plenty of paintings in the National Gallery, there are the
Egyptians, the Holbeins. Paint the figure ; and don't excuse weak-
ness by the fear of drawing freely in public.
Yesterday, while I was working, a little rentier pestered me to
40
PdL4
4. — Page from Camille Pissarro's letter, Rouen, October 11, 1883.
death. This poor fellow spoke to me about a young man of nine-
teen, from this neighborhood, whom he wants to help. This young
man is full of ardor and has invincible faith, he has only a hundred
francs a month, and he is going to Paris for three or four months.
41
So I was asked to go and look at a portrait done by this young man.
Another painter who will be swallowed up in Paris, or is he strong
enough to resist? has he talent? Pardon me, talent is not what is
required, everybody has talent nowadays. Well, we shall see.
Here comes the sun, I must leave you until next time.
ROUEN, OCTOBER 19, 1885
M y dear Lucien,
Yesterday I received your letter in which you mention the vari-
ous works you have begun. Let me urge you to complete whatever
you begin. However I know myself the difficulty or rather the diffi-
culties that beset one unexpectedly when working outdoors. Here
the weather is always changing, it is very discouraging. I am work-
ing on nine canvases, all of which are more or less well advanced.
The day after your departure I started a new painting at Le Cours-
la-Reine, in the afternoon in a glow of sun [602], and another in
the morning by the water below St. Paul's Church. These two can-
vases are fairly well advanced, but I still need one session in fine
weather without too much mist to give them a little firmness. Until
now I have not been able to find the effect I want, I have even been
forced to change the effect a bit, which is always dangerous. I have
also an effect of fog, another, same effect, from my window, the
same motif in the rain [608], several sketches in oils, done on the
quays near the boats [610, 61 1] ; the next day it was impossible to
go on, everything was confused, the motifs no longer existed ; one
has to realize them in a single session. Yesterday I began to work
on a charming motif, a view from the balcony of a cafe facing
Le Cours-la-Reine, unfortunately it is only a canvas of about 21
x 18 inches. I shall do it over again, at least I can finish it.
We shall see what Durand will say, I am expecting him Sunday.
The Murers 1 left yesterday, they were very kind to me. Since
1 Eugene Murer and his sister Marie. An ex-pastry cook, a novelist and painter in his
leisure time, Murer was a friend from childhood of the painter Armand Guillaumin
through whom he became acquainted with the group of impressionists. He acquired a
very important collection of their works, sometimes obtaining a canvas in return for a
certain number of meals. Managing with his sister the Hdtel du Dauphin et d'Espagne
in Rouen, he advertised a "Magnificent collection of impressionist paintings, which can
be seen any day without charge between ten and six." Renoir painted portraits of
Murer and his sister, as did Pissarro [469, 1S37, 1S38].
42
they are part owners of the hotel ihey arranged to let me have a
magnificent room on the street and all my meals for one hundred
and fifty a month. I work at my window on rainy days, I think the
paintings I do then are my best work} not easy to sell, however. It
is raining now, I ram to my window.
P.S. I bought Piping Hot and The Ladies' Paradise [by Zola],
which I am about to read. I don't see any point in sending them to
London where they will not be enjoyed.
I dined with Monet's brother at Deville. He showed me some
Monets and some small but superb Renoirs . . .
I showed my studies to Morel.1 He responded by exclaiming:
"Ah! ah!"— "Look at that!"— "Strange!"— "Interesting!", etc.
I don't believe he likes my pictures, however he told me that when
he saw my Peasant Girl Taking Her Coffee [549] , he thought it so
fine that he wanted to write and tell me so, but he did not know
my address. He called it flawless. However I don't believe my work
changed much.2
ROUEN, OCTOBER 22, 1885
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday I was visited by Monet, his brother and son, Durand
and his son. We spent the day together at Deville. The day was
beautiful and we went to Canteleu, a village on the outskirts of
Deville, on a high hill. We beheld the most wonderful landscape a
painter could hope to see. The view of Rouen in the distance with
the Seine spread out as calm as glass, sunny slopes, splendid fore-
grounds, was magical. I will decidedly go to this village to paint
next year, it is marvelous.
Durand found my pictures very fine. — But the weather keeps
me from finishing them, and a bad cold keeps me in my room.
1 A young painter whom Pissarro met in Rouen and advised; possibly the artist men-
tioned in the previous letter.
1 The picture dates from 1881.
43
ROUEN, OCTOBER 51, 1883
My dear Lucien,
M. [Morel] finally left. — The poor boy kept deferring his trip.
However I never let him see how bored I was with his absurd con-
ceptions which if not wholly wrong are certainly depressing. I did
not want to hurt him, but such reasonings could never lead to any-
thing strong. — He was fated by his very logic to get nowhere.
"Why make studies from nature, nobody appreciates them? I
dropped that, I made myself a jack-of -all-trades, I used every
trick . . ."
"And", I replied, "you are a success? . . ."
"You see they didn't want good work, very well, I'll give them
something for their money ..."
Ideas stemming from impotence, for an artist should have only
his ideal in mind. — He lives poorly, yes, but in his misery one
hope sustains him, the hope of finding someone who can under-
stand him; in three out of four cases he finds his man. — I know
perfectly well that tricksters, tricksters with real energy, heap up
fortunes, but either they pass by like clouds, or they know they are
inferior, and feel degraded. Of course this is a question of tempera-
ment.— Anyhow, M. told me before he left that he would try color
division, soft tones, etc., but he would add "beautiful" motifs. We
have heard all that before, it makes me think of V., 1 they are all
the same, they want to run with the hare and hunt with the
hounds.
Yesterday I received a letter from Gauguin, who probably had
heard from Durand that I did some good work here. He is going
to look me up and study the place's possibilities from the point of
view of art and practicality. He is naive enough to think that since
the people in Rouen are very wealthy, they can easily be induced
to buy some paintings. . . . Gauguin disturbs me very much, he
is so deeply commercial, at least he gives that impression. I haven't
the heart to point out to him how false and unpromising is his atti-
tude j true, his needs are great, his family being used to luxury, just
the same his attitude can only hurt him. Not that I think we ought
not try to sell, but I regard it a waste of time to think only of sell-
ing, one forgets one's art and exaggerates one's value. It is better to
1 Probably an allusion to the landscape painter Victor Vignon.
44
get low prices for a while, and even easier, particularly when your
work is strong and original, and to go ahead bit by bit, as we do.
What will Gauguin think when I tell him about my talk with
Monet who is completely opposed to another exhibition in Paris? 1
This is also Renoir's position. — The people of Paris are fed up:
let's not start anything. And truly, I think we have had enough
exhibitions. But what will Gauguin not say! — The fact is he has
his reputation to make! — I really don't know what to say to him,
yet I think it absurd to weary everyone with our affairs, and then
I have made up my mind to bide my time.
I will probably leave Rouen in five or six days, for since yester-
day the weather has been tame. — I finished six of eleven paintings,
of the five unfinished two are passable. — I did not waste my time.
ROUEN, NOVEMBER 10, 1885
My dear son,
I told you that Gauguin was looking for a house in Rouen. He
has found a place and is coming to take Rouen by storm, at any
rate to try it for a year. He is half-dropping finance for art.
I sent you Le Figaro, you will read in it that the impressionists
were a sensation in Berlin. Menzel found the paintings poor. And
now Le Figaro out of patriotism defends us, a strange reversal! 2
But I've seen many strange things! As for Menzel's views, they did
not surprise me; he is evidently a man of talent, but heavy and
bourgeois as the deuce. Degas was at one time enthusiastic about
him and sent us to Goupil's to see his canvas The Ball Room. I
went, of course, hoping to find and admire a masterpiece, I went
quite unprejudiced, with Miss Cassatt. We found a muddy canvas,
carefully executed, yes, but without art or finesse. We both found
it mediocre. Later I saw some of his watercolors that had the same
1 The previous impressionist exhibitions had been very incomplete, for Monet, Renoir
and Sisley had elected to send their works to the official Salon. Pissarro and his friends
were opposed to holding a group exhibition in 1884. Thus Gauguin, who had partici-
pated in the group's exhibitions in 1880, 1881 and 1882, was unable to show his work
again.
* In fact Le Figaro, which in Albert Wolff's reviews had always belittled the im-
pressionists, unexpectedly took this view of the exhibition in Berlin: "These painters,
some of whom are masters, are so well known in Paris that there is little point in
again evaluating them . . . No doubt the great Menzel is completely wrong about
some of the canvases that were exhibited."
45
defects, most particularly the same clumsiness and bourgeois spirit.
We were then able to make an interesting comparison of this in-
significant painter and Degas. Degas, after he had seen the exhibi-
tion at Goupil's, did a rough copy of Menzel's Ball. Returning, we
were astonished by the superiority of Degas' sketch.1 It is true that
a sketch has more charm; just the same Degas' work was there
before our eyes and invited comparison with Menzel's.. It is absurd
to compare Monet with this lubberly German, or even Renoir. —
After a while people will get the point.
Degas in examining the canvases of this painter saw in them
careful studies of particular types, drawn not without art; but the
work is uninspired.
ROUEN, NOVEMBER 20, 1883
My dear Lucien,
Turner's drawing [of Le Cours-la-Reine] looks quite good, it
seems to me that you must have copied it from memory, for you
left out the trees. I would have liked to have a faithful copy, you
can make one. No carelessness at the start, carelessness so easily
becomes habitual! It is strange that Turner chose just this motif.
That's the way it is in Rouen, you are always struck by the same
places. Yesterday I made a drawing of the rue de la Grosse Horloge.
I had scarcely finished it when I saw a lithograph of the same
street done in 1829 or 1830 by Bonington. But the street has
changed: in the foreground there is a house with wood carving
which is no longer to be found. — I have also made some drawings
from wood sculptures, pure Gothic, with little ornamentation, they
are simply marvelous. This is the way to understand the realism
of that period. The nudes are admirable. — If you have time, you
should copy them; there must be some things of this sort in the
London museums.
You tell me that if I have a show in London I should send my
best works. That sounds simple enough, but when I reflect and ask
myself : which are my best things? I am in all honesty greatly per-
plexed. Didn't I send to London my Peasant Girl Taking Her
Coffee [549] , and my Peasant Girl with Branch [540] ? Alas, I
* Degas made a copy of Menzel's painting which was listed No. 30 in the catalogue
of the third sale of his atelier. See fig. 11.
46
shall never do more careful, more finished work: however these
paintings were regarded as uncouth in London. So it is not im-
proper selection which explains why my works offend English
taste. — Remember that I have the temperament of a peasant, I am
melancholy, harsh and savage in my works, it is only in the long
run that I can expect to please, and then only those who have a
grain of indulgence ; but the eye of the passerby is too hasty and
sees only the surface. Whoever is in a hurry will not stop for me.
As for the young misses touched, alas, with the modern neurot-
icism, they are even worse, the romantics were much less fero-
cious! If they looked into the past they would see to how slight a
degree the old masters were — how shall I say? — precious, for they
were indeed elegant, in the artistic sense of the word.
I have just concluded my series of paintings, I look at them
constantly. I who made them often find them horrible. I under-
stand them only at rare moments, when I have forgotten all about
them, on days when I feel kindly disposed and indulgent to their
poor maker. Sometimes I am horribly afraid to turn round can-
vases which I have piled against the wall; I am constantly afraid
of finding monsters where I believed there were precious gems ! . . .
Thus it does not astonish me that the critics in London relegate
me to the lowest rank. Alas! I fear that they are only too justified!
— However, at times I come across works of mine which are
soundly done and really in my style, and at such moments I find
great solace. But no more of that. Painting, art in general, en-
chants me. It is my life. What else matters? When you put all
your soul into a work, all that is noble in you, you cannot fail to
find a kindred soul who understands you, and you do not need a
host of such spirits. Is not that all an artist should wish for?
Goodness ! What a tirade ! I have not been able to send you the
newspapers; I couldn't find them. You will see in one of the last
issues of La France a very clear article on the Tongking incident.1
That crazy Gauguin has been praising our foreign minister's policy
to the skies. I listened to him for a long time. — He slaughtered
the opposition for its stupidity and senselessness just as he did dur-
ing the Tunis incident and on other occasions. I listened quietly,
I am always intimidated, I don't know enough about these matters.
1 Henri Riviire, who took Hanoi, had just been killed in a surprise attack, and the
event had caused the French government to send troops and Admiral Courbet. The
latter, in August 1883, forced the Annamite emperor to accept a French protectorate
over Annam and Tongking.
47
But at last I begin to realize that my poor friend Gauguin does not
always see clearly. — He is always on the side of the bastards! —
he is more naive than I thought. . . .
ROUEN, NOVEMBER 27, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I have just come from the seashore [Petites Dalles] , from which,
despite the constant rain, I was able to bring back two large studies
[599, 600].
It is splendid, the country is superb, there are farms, cliffs,
forests, subjects enough to keep one always busy. It is quite far,
close to Fecamp, but what of that? I hope that next year we will all
be able to spend the summer here, and that you will join us. I
dream of taking the sea air with my little Tiolo.
OSNY, DECEMBER 1, 1883
My dear Lucien,
I have been home since Wednesday. I unpacked my studies and
paintings. They all seem very clear except perhaps the two versions
of Le Cours-la-Reine [602, 603] and perhaps another with Le
Bon-Secours in the background [601] . The subjects of these paint-
ings are not more beautiful than what I see here. The beautiful
motifs in Rouen are the ships and slopes. The outskirts of Rouen,
which are in the country, should be admirable.
As for Petites Dalles, the heights with their farms and apple
trees are admirable. The sea, than which nothing is more variable,
forms the other motifs, which are everywhere interesting. Results
of my trip : I am glad to be back in my studio, I look at my studies
more indulgently, I feel more sure about what is to be done.
PARIS, DECEMBER 9, 1883
My dear Lucien,
You must harness yourself to drawing. For the present draw just
for the sake of drawing, later, when you are more skilled, if you
48
6. — C. Pissarro: Road from Pontoise to Osny, 1885.
7. — P. Gauguin: Road from Pontoise to Osny, 1883.
8. — P. Gauguin: Landscape in Normandy, near Rouen, 1884.
have what it takes, you will find your own style. But steer clear of
Caldecotte and Kate Greenaway ! Remember that the primitives are
our masters because they are naive and knowing.
OSNY, DECEMBER 14, 1883
My dear son,
I went to L'Isle-Adam to look at the house with the big garden.
I find the country frightful, a vast plain with little slopes in the
distance, long, long streets, sad, sad walls, stupid, stupid bourgeois
houses. Can a painter live here? I should have constantly to go off
on trips. Imagine! No! I require a spot that has beauty! I shall
scour the towns and the country, if I find nothing and the house
is for rent, we will see!
OSNY, DECEMBER 28, 1885
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you Les Fleurs du Mai and the book of Verlaine.
I do not believe these works can be appreciated by anyone who
comes to them with the prejudices of English, or what is more,
bourgeois traditions. Not that I am completely in favor of the
contents of these books ; I am no more for them than for Zola,
whom I find a bit too photographic, but I recognize their superior-
ity as works of art, and from the standpoint of certain ideas of
modern criticism, they have value to me. Besides it is clear that
from now on the novel must be critical, sentiment, or rather senti-
mentality, cannot be tolerated without danger in a rotten society
ready to fall apart.
The discussion you had about naturalism is going on every-
where. Both sides exaggerate. It is clear that it is necessary to
generalize and not lean on trivial details. — But as I see it, the most
corrupt art is the sentimental, the art of orange blossoms which
makes pale women swoon.
I will look for one or two works of Proudhon on the literary and
social question, perhaps Alfred will learn something. But once
again, what is the good!!
Of course I can understand someone blushing at coarse jests or
49
erotic passages, but that only proves one is no longer innocent! —
Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant may have such an effect, but
Paul et Virginie also gives one definite sensations, even more pro-
found though quite different, one does not blush,, for instance !
Why doesn't Alfred read the two little books on socialism which
I lent him? — They are easy reading and should give him a general
idea of the movement which points to the new road our society
must take. I believe that for an Englishman Alfred lacks persist-
ence. Let him read John Stuart Mill, the last works especially; look
what Mill acknowledged before he died! Since Mill was an Eng-
lishman, Alfred will not dispute the accuracy of his judgment. And
he will begin to understand the movement which will change
everything. There is no more time for amusements, you are right,
education is what is necessary. See, then, how stupid the bour-
geoisie, the real bourgeoisie have become, step by step they go
lower and lower, in a word they are losing all notion of beauty,
they are mistaken about everything. Where there is something to
admire they shout it down, they disapprove! Where there are
stupid sentimentalities from which you want to turn with disgust,
they jump with joy or swoon. — Everything they have admired
for the last fifty years is now forgotten, old-fashioned, ridiculous.
For years they had to be forcibly prodded from behind, shouted
at: This is Delacroix! That's Berlioz! Here is Ingres! etc., etc. And
the same thing has held true in literature, in architecture, in sci-
ence, in medicine, in every branch of human knowledge. They are
Zulus with straw-yellow gloves, top hat and tails. They are like
the falling, rolling rock which we must ceaselessly roll back in
order to escape being crushed. Hence the sarcasms of Daumier,
Gavarni, etc., etc. You are indeed young to want to convince a
bourgeois! — English or other!
Nini is here. I began a portrait of her, a canvas of about 28 x 23
inches. I set her somewhat sulky face under her curly blond hair
with a great cherry-colored bow on a background of dark blue!
[654] . You can see that from London! — I had a hellish time get-
ting it right. I will be satisfied if I can achieve as good a resem-
blance as appears in that puckered pastel of Alfred [1564]. You
can count on my getting the proper harmony.
Manet's exhibition opens on January 5th. — Manet, great painter
that he was, had a petty side, he was crazy to be recognized by
the constituted authorities, he believed in success, he longed for
honors . . . He died without achieving his desire. Duret, Proust
50
(Antonin) , have been selected to carry out his last wishes and to
give a touch of solemnity to the exhibition, they could think of
nothing better than to ask the worst officials, Manet's inveterate
enemies, to join the organizing committee, and give an official
stamp to the ceremony. All the bourgeois gentlemen will be
there ... all those who loved and defended the great artist:
shocking ! away with them ! — Even Fantin-Latour, who, it appears,
claims that Manet in his last years had degenerated to such a point
that he hoped to change his style through contact with those dilet-
tantes [the impressionists] who produce more noise than art! That's
pretty strong, but not surprising !
51
18 84
OSNY, JANUARY 14, 1884
My dear Lucien,
I had a long conversation with Alice, we talked of you.1 I told
her to remind you to go to the academy and seriously devote your-
self to drawing the nude. To draw the figure, you have to know
anatomy. You need four or five months of work at the academy as
a start 5 the thing to do is to discontinue when the weather gets
better and then to go back in the winter. If you could go just in
the morning, that wouldn't be bad. When I went I did so only at
night so that I could paint during the day. But that is too much
to expect of young Englishmen who go out in the evening, isn't it?
But calculate that you have little time ahead. Soon you will have
to support yourself, and then, beset by other needs, you will have
to neglect certain studies. And besides, one must arm oneself at tht
start with everything necessary for the future fight.
I just received a letter from Gauguin, he has moved to Rouen.
OSNY, JANUARY 22, 1884
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you, with M. Bensusan, a portfolio containing ten
lithographs by Daumier and one lithograph of old coins by Dela-
croix. These are rare by now and I prize them much. I often used
1 Lucien's cousins, Esther and Alice Isaacson, were then staying in France.
52
to look at them but I am sending them to you in order to give you
an opportunity to fill your mind with the real artistry of these two
great masters. I am entrusting them to you in the expectation that
you will take good care of them, and bring them with you on your
next trip. There is nothing better in lithography.
I keenly regret the bad turn Esther has taken, it is a pity, for
she has intelligence. . . . Once at a concert we were admiring the
splendid unity of the Lamoureux orchestra j she said to me, and
with deep conviction: just as an orchestra needs a conductor,
humanity needs a leader, a chief. I only had time to make this
reply : but not without the consent of his collaborators for other-
wise everything would go to pot ; thus there is a kind of contract
between the musicians of an orchestra and its conductor, who is
there simply because he is best able to direct the artists, but is not
free to do whatever he pleases, — from this it is a long way to
authoritarianism! . . . She would have done better to follow the
great concepts of Justice instead of withdrawing into a stupid,
absurd and narrow pietism.
Do not be taken in by the facility of beginners, it is often an
obstacle later on. So much the better if it is painful for you to
take even the first step, the more toilsome the work the stronger
you will emerge from it. — Those who have more facility make
less progress because they do well right away, with ease and with-
out reflection; they are like the students with good memories. Of
course, if one is strict with one's self, facility in execution can be
an advantage. I repeat, guard against facility.
It is not surprising that you do not find your forms again with
ease, you have been working for so short a time, and it is very diffi-
cult. Recommence twenty times if necessary, a moment will come
in which you will discover to your astonishment that you know
how to draw. — I recall that in the Academie Suisse there were
students who were remarkably skillful and could draw with sur-
prising sureness. Later on, I saw these same artists at work, they
were still skillful, but no more than that. Just think of Bastien
Lepage! and Carolus Duran!!! No, no, no, that is not art!
OSNY, JANUARY 29, 1884
My dear Lucien,
Perhaps you would have more success with landscape, you do
not draw the figure well enough, not having yet made enough
53
sketches from models. In fact, the best solution for all difficulties is
to become a first rate draftsman, and to draw in your own style,
but that will come later.
You should give some thought to the problem of how you are
to sign your works : my name would be risky, since I have been in
disfavor for so long, and then also, people are only too ready to
bracket you with someone else. For the present it might not be bad
to sign yourself "Vellay," x later you may be able to think of
something better.
I am not very much surprised about the Henrys, all the feminine
readers of Zola open his books with the single purpose of finding
gross passages; but the truth is that The Ladies' Paradise is really
very mild. It offers nothing to those who are not concerned with
the enjoyment that art gives.
The children are much better, I am going to devote myself to
looking for a house, people tell me that Compiegne is very
beautiful.
OSNY, FEBRUARY 7, 1884
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you some newspapers. You will read about the sale
of Manet's works. Poor results! 2 The bourgeois are always stupid.
As for the troubles the British are having in Egypt, they de-
served it! 3 At last right triumphs over might. What will the
bourgeois say to that! It is all the fault of the so-called "liberal"
Gladstone's cabinet of hypocrites and quakers, with their politics
of cotton merchants. We were right enough about the arguments
of Gauguin and the others!
1 Vellay was MkMame Pissarrd's maiden name.
2 According to the memoirs of Durand-Ruel who with Georges Petit organized the
sale of Manet's atelier the results, while modest, exceeded expectations. The total bid
for 159 pictures, pastels and drawings was 116,637 francs.
3 In 1881, following the revolt of Arabi Pasha, the British occupied the valley of the
Nile. These events led to friction between the British and the French, who had been
their partners in the control of Egypt. In 1884 there was a bloody revolt in the Sudan.
54
OSNY, FEBRUARY 10, 1884
My dear Lucien,
I got back from Compiegne yesterday evening, and I shall not
return there. A very level, bourgeois and solemn place, a smaller
Versailles and very dull. But there is a Town Hall, and a beautiful
Gothic and Roman church. The general view, from the vantage
point of a neighboring hill, is rather cold and monotonous. No, it's
not for me. Tomorrow I will probably go to Gisors to see Eragny
again.
The weather has been almost continuously bad, impossible to do
anything. It is too bad you cannot work on the figure during this
season. If you want to do some serious work, I think you will have
to come back to France, for it seems to me that you have not yet
been able to find your way in England. If you can make some
drawings that deal with English life send me one of them, perhaps
I can do something with it.
Renoir's brother edits La Vie Moderne. Renoir does drawings
for the paper. It is not very good. Someone told me that I was
expected to collaborate, but I have not done so, for I have a horror
of gillotage.1 — From a financial point of view it is hardly worth
while, I even believe the paper pays only its well-known artists!
But one can always try !
To return to the drawings, it is clear that France has little to
offer, unless you are a charlatan. If you had a talent for satire, like
Forain, but in your own style, of course, it would be possible to
succeed, that is if you had pull. Send me something I can show to
Portier.2
This is idle talk. I actually do not know what your capacities
are.
1 Gillotage is a special technique of making drawings for reproduction. These draw-
ings have to be executed on paper with a special grain on which white is obtained by
scraping. This technique was very popular at that period.
1 A modest dealer in paints and paintings at the corner of rue Fontaine and rue La
Rochefoucauld in Paris.
55
OSNY, FEBRUARY 17, 1884
My dear son,
To give you an idea of what I mean by done, I sent you those
Daumier lithographs. You received them, of course, but could not
have felt them deeply. You have not said a single word about them,
but they are "marvels" from any point of view. For myself, I can-
not look at them without admiring this great artist. But clearly
understand, that if it is done that's mainly because it is constructed.
The junctures of the arms, legs and ankles are as wonderful as in
the greatest masters, and these are caricatures ! Notice the ties, the
collars, the trousers, the folds which reveal so well the forms under-
neath ; the shoes, notice them, and the hands!
My dear Lucien, do not vex yourself about doing something
new. Novelty lies not in the subject but in the manner of express-
ing it. When you cite what was done between Nittis and Whistler,
I must reply again that you exaggerate. Nittis, my dear Lucien, is
of little account, he is not dangerous ; as for Whistler, he found a
formula ; very well ! but what you must understand is this, you have
all the latitude you want to seek a formula. After much study, 3rou
will get there, but don't take it into your head that there is nothing
to be done ; that's what Guillemet used to say: "After Corot,
Daubigny, Jongkind, there is nothing left to be done!" Ab-
surd! What, will art stop just because it produced a Keene,
a Whistler? What can have gotten into you? Art went on after
the Clouets, the Holbeins, the primitives — other things were done,
that's all. No, it is dangerous to occupy one's mind with such
notions, it is so much better to strengthen oneself and not give way
to the arguments of discouragement which remind me, in a way,
of Morel. — If you were here with me, I would have you make
lithographs and etchings, particularly the latter, and it is always
necessary to draw.
I have been running from one place to another looking for a
house. I stayed at Gisors for three days. — We didn't look the place
over when we went there together, we didn't see the whole wooded
section of the public park, the superb forests with extraordinarily
irregular terrain, the ruins of the castle of La Reine Blanche. The
park with great trees and towers covered with vegetation, and a
view of the church spires in the distance, is superb. Old streets,
56
three little streams, filled with picturesque motifs; and the country-
side is superb, too. I hastily made some watercolors. I promised my-
self that I would go there to paint, for I haven't found a satis-
factory house. I believe I am finally going to take the house in
L'Isle-Adam, unhappily it is right next to the cemetery, but the
garden is six or seven times bigger than ours, we shall even be
able to play cricket. The owner is going to build me a studio in
the garden; as far as motifs are concerned they are rather poor;
but in summer I can easily go by train to Valmondois, Compiegne,
or Auvers. You leave your equipment where you work. As for
Rouen, I don't dare go that far away.
Forain, from what I have been told, is not doing the things he
used to do. This is a great pity, for he has a fine sense of criticism
and is a keen observer. I saw in yesterday's newspaper some draw-
ings by Robida which Gauguin puts above Forain's, how wrong ! —
skill, an infernal ease, the gift of fantasy, but no style. — What a
gap between Degas and all the others!
In Rouen, I bought a copy of Champfleury's Histoire de la Cari-
cature, an invaluable book with illustrations by Daumier. In it the
whole story of Daumier is told. Looking through this book you
see at once that Daumier was the man his drawings show him to
be, a convinced, a true republican. And you feel in his drawings
the sweep of a great artist who marched towards his goal but did
not cease to be an artist in the most profound sense, so that even
without legends and explanations his drawings are beautiful.
Your mother is upset because of my letter. She claims I en-
courage you to concern yourself with art, whereas you should
think of earning a livelihood. I do not know whether my advice is
good, but in any case, for the present, I urge you only to draw
often, and to acquire strength by drawing the nude. When you
are strong you can do as you like. But perhaps I am wrong.
PARIS, MARCH 1, 1884
My dear Lucien,
I am writing you a short letter. Since morning, I had to run for
the lease, for rugs, for money, and I'm fagged out.
I am glad to hear that you are drawing the nude. I wish you
57
had told me so before ; I was thinking of asking you to come home
and work here, and help us move. But it's no great matter, con-
tinue, we shall delay calling on you as long as possible.
I think you will find attractive things to paint in Gisors, subjects,
moreover, which should interest the English: churches, markets,
farms, stations, coachmen, shopkeepers, and the landscape itself.
We can make lithographs in four tones. — I ought to talk with John
Lewis Brown about this. Then we can occupy ourselves with
etchings, only the nude will give us trouble.
Yes, we have decided for Eragny on the Epte [near Gisors].
The house is wonderful and not too dear : a thousand francs with
garden and fields. It is about two hours from Paris. I found the
country much more beautiful than Compiegne, although that day
it was still pouring torrents. But here comes the spring, the fields
are green, outlines are delicate in the distance. Gisors is superb,
we hadn't seen anything.
I am at the moment reading about the terrible explosion in
Victoria Station,2 and I am beginning to think there is no security
for anyone in London now, it would be wiser, my boy, to come
home and work with me, — don't you think so?
PARIS [MARCH], 1884
My dear Lucien,
I hope you can come and help me. I thought it would do you no
harm to work with me for a while at Eragny, and indeed in a
period of troubles and exploding stations, it cannot be very com-
fortable to stay in a country where events seem to be shaping up
along lines similar to those in Russia.
Send me word about the family and about the catastrophe in
London. — From far off, one often gets an entirely different idea
of things. But likewise when one is too close one sees nothing; you
can't see a Cezanne by holding it against your nose. On the subject
1 The painter John Lewis Brown was a Frenchman. While not an impressionist, he
was intimate with the artists who exhibited at Durand-RueVs, where his own paintings
were often shown.
2 There was an explosion in Victoria Station on the night of February 26, 1884.
Afterwards it was discovered that time bombs had also been planted in the stations at
Charing Cross, Ludgate Hill and Paddington, by Fenians, Irish terrorists.
58
of Cezanne, let me inform you that I treated myself to four ex-
tremely interesting studies by him.1
OSNY, MARCH 12, 1884
My dear Lucien,
I am sorry that you cannot go on with English lessons and draw-
ing the nude, which last you should have embarked on long ago.
Well, we will try to do some serious work here, we will discuss the
matter when you come.
You are right to regard this terrorism as futile and base, but
what political party is not base? I beg you to believe that neither
side is ever able to be dispassionate in dealing with such political
questions, and it is difficult to get at the truth. It is impossible to
judge properly if you look only at the facts. I agree that the Irish
terrorists are fanatical Catholics and will not be able to get any-
where, but this does not mean that the English are without their
own brand of secular iniquity ! In all this I see two things : the
egotism and waywardness of men !
Returning to France in the spring of 1884, Lucien had to go to
work once more in Paris where he was employed for some time in
the publishing firm of the art dealer Manzi. It was here that he
became acquainted with the technique of color printing which he
was to use for his woodcuts and books. During this time his father
wrote him occasionally from Eragny where the family had finally
settled. Later Lucien rejoined his father there to work at his side.
The years 1883 and 1884 had been particularly difficult for
Camille Pissarro since Durand-Ruel was unable to give him the
help he needed. Hard pressed himself, Durand-Ruel could do little
for his painters. The letters Pissarro received from him were any-
thing but encouraging:
"You cannot conceive what difficulties I have had for about
1 Since Cizanne would unquestionably have given his friend Pissarro canvases for
which the latter showed enthusiasm, the studies must have been purchased from pfcre
Tanguy, the only dealer who handled Cezanne at that time.
59
a month now. I waste my time running after people who
make promises and never keep them." (June 188))
"I am terribly sorry to leave you without a penny, but 1
have nothing at all at the present moment. I must even greet
misfortune with a smile and I have to give the appearance
of being almost rich." (November 1883)
"7 am still very annoyed with the way business is going.
All those whom I ask for help tell me to wait. That's easy to
say." (June 1884)
"If we fight just a little more, we shall finally dominate our
enemies." (October 1884)
"The Gallery still keeps me extremely busy but all I earn is
trouble. I wish I were free to go live in the desert." (June
1885)
Although he could hardly have expected Pissarro to live on these
complaints, Durand-Ruel became very angry when the painter
finally sold some paintings to second-rate dealers. And he re-
proached Pissarro because, as he put it, "one of these dealers,
Heymann, showed his pictures without frames in dirty shops just
to render them ridiculous." On the other hand Pissarro would
gladly have abandoned Durand if he had been able to find a dealer
ready to give him a regular even if small income.
60
18 8 5
ERAGNY ON THE EPTE, NEAR GISORS (EURE)
[AUGUST 21, 1885]
My dear Lucien,
You mentioned a sketch on which you have begun to work,
Les Graves, a motif which Guillemet and the Daubignys, father
and son, as well as many others have painted. — It is very fine, but
alas, how it has been interpreted ! I doubt whether you will be able
to do much work. — Calm, and reflection coupled with a passion
for one's subject, are necessary for good work.
I brought Durand eight pictures, among them my Sunset and
the motif done from my window. They have been praised, but I
find them poor, — tame, grey, monotonous, — I am not at all satis-
fied.— I am working with fury and I have finally discovered the
right execution, the search for which has tormented me for a year.
I am pretty sure I have it now, all I need is to spend this coming
autumn in Rouen or in some other place where I can find striking
motifs.
ERAGNY ON THE EPTE NEAR GISORS
[AUGUST 25, 1885]
My dear Lucien,
I am awaiting your arrival, after which, if Durand's kindness
permits, I may set out myself. I expect to do a number of pictures
in Bouille, on the outskirts of Rouen. I have often heard it de-
61
scribed as marvelous. The time I went to Rouen, I was not able
even to visit this place. . . .
No luck, the weather is changing, I cannot finish anything. I
received a letter from Monet, who is in despair because he has not
succeeded with the canvases on which he worked most furiously, as
happened with those I did at Gisors. — My work is going better,
but I am only beginning, I still have to put in my final sessions. . . .
You, who are an artist, ought to be able to make Esther under-
stand that Gisors has art treasures that should delight a tourist
with taste 5 tell her about the diversified style of the church, about
the wooden doors of Jean Goujon, about the stairways, the genea-
logical tree, the French frescoes (rare) , and the basin which I al-
most omitted from my list. This basin is a whole world! and
then there are the park, the carvings on the town hall, the museum
with its extraordinary stuffed birds, in short, you should unroll the
list of attractions, and get her to decide to stay here as long as
possible.
62
18 8 6
1886 was a critical year in the history of modern painting. To
follow more closely the events referred to in Pissarro's letters,
events in which he played so prominent a role, it might be well to
recall these facts:
For some time now the relations between the impressionists had
been compromised by all sorts of disagreements. Cezanne had kept
aloof since 1877 . Monet and Renoir, wishing to be represented at
the official Salons of 1880 and 1881, had not shown their work
in the group exhibitions organized by their comrades. Degas had
wanted to break with them, whereupon Caillebotte had suggested
to Pissarro that they break with Degas. Pissarro had refused.
Despite these difficulties, a group exhibition had been held in 1882.
In 188), there had been only a series of one-man shows at Durand-
RueVs. In 1884 and 188S, there had been no exhibitions at all.
What would be decided for 1886? From the letters that are to
follow it is clear that this question greatly preoccupied Pissarro.
It was in 1885 , in the studio of their mutual friend Guillaumin,
that Camille Pissarro and Paul Signac met for the first time. Si-
gnac, in turn, introduced Georges Seurat. Much attracted by the
theories of these young painters who both belonged to Lucien's
generation, Pissarro soon became a partisan of "divisionism,"
which meant radically changing his palette and technique. These
changes did not fail to create serious difficulties for Pissarro. His
dealers and collectors, for the most part, found his new works un-
acceptable. On the other hand his old comrades in the impressionist
group showed an often open hostility to the new tendency. Thus
Pissarro found himself almost completely isolated.
On December 7 , 1885 , Pissarro wrote to Monet: "For some
63
time there has been much talk about a show, it is discussed on every
side. I paid a visit to Miss Cassatt. From the very first we spoke
about the show. Can't we come to an understanding about it? All
of us, Degas, Caillebotte, Guillaumin, Berthe Morisot, Miss Cassatt
and two or three others would make an excellent nucleus for a
show. The difficulty is in coming to an agreement."
It was only by dint of much arguing that Pissarro got some of
the old impressionists to consent to an eighth general exhibition in
1886. He got Seurat, Signac and Lucien invited to participate, but
this resulted in the withdrawal of Monet, Renoir, Sisley and Caille-
botte. How this exhibition was organized — it brought together
Mary Cassatt, Degas, Forain, Gauguin, Guillaumin, Berthe
Morisot, Camille and Lucien Pissarro, Odilon Redon, Seurat, Si-
gnac and some others — will appear in the letters. The show was at
once the last joint exhibition of the impressionists and the first
public appearance of the painters grouped around Seurat who were
to call themselves " neo-impressionists."
From then on the split between Pissarro and his former com-
rades deepened. The latter reproached him for having resorted to
"chemical" techniques, and Pissarro replied by dubbing them
"romantic impressionists," or even plain "romantics," thus em-
phasizing the differences in principle which separated them from
the new group of "scientific impressionists" to which he adhered.
A brochure by Felix Fe'neon, which appeared that very year, clari-
fied the theoretical and technical questions about which the two
groups disagreed.
In a letter to Durand-Ruel, Camille Pissarro explained the
theory of the neo-impressionists (crediting Seurat with having first
applied it), saying that the aim of the new movement was:
"To seek a modern synthesis of methods based on science, that
is based on M. ChevreuVs theory of color and on the experiments
of Maxwell and the measurements of N .0. Rood.
"To substitute optical mixture for mixture of pigments. In other
words: the breaking up of tones into their constituents. For optical
mixture stirs up more intense luminosities than does mixture of
pigments.
"As far as execution is concerned, we regard it as of little im-
portance: art, as we see it, does not reside in the execution: orig-
inality depends only on the character of the drawing and the vision
peculiar to each artist."
64
9. — Paul Gauguin, Photograph.
s
o
o
-
I— (
efl
m
H
t
©
o
CO ~~
ta
N
• s
12. — Edgar Degas, Photograph taken by the Artist himself.
It was as a convinced and enthusiastic adherent of " divisionism'
that Camille Pissarro wrote the letters dated 1886.
PARIS, [JANUARY 21, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Durand is having difficulties with his landlord, he has a lawsuit
on his hands and he is looking everywhere for funds to finance the
exhibition in America, which he is more than ever determined to
hold. Pictures are being selected, today they are making a selection
from my works. There will be just our group [the impressionists] ,
in all 250 canvases. These will all have to be sent before next
month. I can't understand what is going on, Renoir and Sisley are
penniless. Monet came in and left the same day. — Durand asked
me if I didn't have some recent canvases which he could take to
New York, he wanted to know whether your mother would lend
him some of the paintings I gave her. I replied that after the trick
he had played in keeping my canvas of Rouen, I would not have
anything to do with it, but that he could ask your mother himself.
As for my latest paintings, I am keeping them for the Paris ex-
hibition.
I am always waiting, cooling my heels. I left some watercolors
with Clauzet,1 but nothing brings quick results. However I got
some promises. Borrowing would be useless, Nunes had not even
been able to pay poor Guillaumin the 200 francs he was expecting.
I shall have to keep waiting, impatience is of no avail. As to leav-
ing, with what? . . .
PARIS [JANUARY], 1886
My dear Lucien,
I went to Paulin's 2 this morning in frightful weather, in a pour-
ing rain, the streets are like lakes. It is two o'clock and it is still
1 Pissarro sometimes writes Clozet, sometimes Clauzet. The contemporary reviews
mention only one dealer, rue de Chdteaudun, named Clauzet.
1 Paul Paulin, a dentist and also a sculptor, ivas one of Pissarro's friends. He did
busts of many of the impressionists, including one of Pissarro. However this was done
after the painter's death.
65
raining. I am streaming wet, my feet are soaked. I went out in
vain, Paulin was not in. I will try him again at six o'clock, after
going to Durand's to see if anything has turned up. — Yesterday
evening he had nothing to give me, not even twenty francs, it's
very embarrassing! Things must be very bad. Everything is at a
standstill.
I know that Monet, Sisley and Renoir get no more than I do.
Monet particularly must be up against it, for Petit, too, is in
dire straits, much worse off even than Durand, from what I hear
from people who understand business matters : he is reduced to his
last devices.
On every side I hear the bourgeois, the professors, the artists and
the merchants saying that France is finished, decadent, that Ger-
many holds the field, that artistic France must succumb to mathe-
matics, that the future belongs to the mechanics and engineers, to
the big German and American bankers. — As if we could foresee
all the surprising things to come! Damn it, yes, France is sick, but
what is the cause of her sickness ? — that's the question ! She is sick
from constant change, she may die, that is true, her fate depends
on the other countries of Europe. If they are moving, even if ever
so little, in the same direction, we shall see something new. Evi-
dently things cannot remain as they are!
The gentleman who noticed my watercolor at Ouzel's 1 asked
the price, but only because he was interested to know the amount.
How characteristic!
PARIS [JANUARY, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday Durand went to Signac's to ask for some canvases for
the exhibition in America. He also expects to see Seurat and Guil-
laumin.
You must have received 150 francs. — Durand will let me have
a little more, I have a gouache to do for 200 francs. Mother is
wrong to complain so much and make herself ill, this crisis will
pass. It is general. If Durand decides to go to America, it must be
that he expects to have some money. It is to his interest to help
us. — All is not lost.
" 1 Pissarro,s frame-maker, who occasionally exhibited some of his canvases.
66
Until next time, my dear Lucien. Embrace everyone and tell
your mother that I need all my strength and will to hold my place,
modest as it is, in the artistic struggle, that vital fight success in
which will finally make us secure. I have the necessary will, but
your mother tries me sorely, she accuses me of not doing my duty.
She knows perfectly well that the contrary is the case.
PARIS [FEBRUARY 5, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
It is easy to talk of returning to Eragny, and not wasting time,
but this must be borne in mind : if Durand persists in not giving
me what I need, it will be absolutely necessary to obtain money
elsewhere. You know very well that this can't be done all of a
sudden.
Beugnet1 saw my fan; he would like to have it, he wants to
see it again by daylight, he hesitates, he acts as if he were engaged
in an epic combat the outcome of which must either be victory or
death. This morning Paulin told me that he had not yet turned up.
Unquestionably he will put in an appearance, but if unhappily we
are overzealous it is to be feared that all will be lost. Isn't that
horrible! The trouble is that we have to deal with an extraordi-
narily cautious man. In addition Beugnet has enormous vanity :
he wants to discover what he should buy on his own initiative, his
best friends have no influence on him. Now to leave before con-
cluding the sale might be to lose a regular customer. Once the
gouache is sold, I can go to see Beugnet, and come to an under-
standing with him; if things get difficult I will be able to exhibit
some pictures at his place. If Durand completely abandons us, I
will perhaps find a little sale for my retouched drawings, in short I
think the prospect is good, for me as well as for Beugnet. I do not
have grandiose illusions. I will look for other ways of bolstering
my position. Portier, for his part, could help me a bit, despite his
funereal air. As for Clauzet, that is another matter; as long as that
crook, Heymann, is behind the scenes I don't want to have dealings
with him.
However I continue to hope that Durand will finally come into
the clear . . .
1 An art dealer.
67
Yesterday Sisley was looking for me everywhere. Madame
Latouche told me that he wanted some information about the
technique of painting fans. Well, this means my fans are spoken
of ... I only fear one thing : that they will finally say that's all I
am good for! We shall see . . .
Yesterday I went to see M. Robert Caze with Cezanne. At
Caze's I found all the young poets, among them a young man who
writes impressionist verses. The young are very enthusiastic about
our work. They tore Zola's His Masterpiece to pieces, it seems to
be completely worthless — they are very severe. I promised to read
it when it appears.2 But they were very enthusiastic about Flau-
bert— there I agree ! They are right ! — They consider Bouvard and
Pecuchet a masterpiece.
Your mother believes that business deals can be carried off in
style, but does she think I enjoy running in the rain and mud,
from morning till night, without a penny in my pocket, often
economizing on bus fare when I am weak with fatigue, counting
every penny for lunch or dinner? I assure you all this is most
unpleasant — but I want just one thing — I want to find someone
who has enough belief in my talent to be willing to help me and
mine keep alive. I am happy only when I am at Eragny with you
and the others, when I can tranquilly dream of the work at hand
— damn it, that is almost too much to hope for!
PARIS [FEBRUARY, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I got the money you sent me for rent. I shall pay it tomorrow
during the day. Portier advanced me 50 francs. I will deduct 30
francs from the note. Durand has promised me something by Mon-
day. He is very close-fisted, can hardly meet his own expenses —
and yet hopes to come out on top.
Paulin is about to sell a fan to another one of his friends. As for
Beugnet, he is a regular rabbit, he has not dared show himself.
1 An art dealer on the rue Lafayette. Her shop was taken over by Contet in 1887.
2 Zola's L'Oeuvre {published in English under the title His Masterpiece) , which be-
longs to the Rougon-Macquart series, had been appearing since the beginning of the
year in Gil Bias. This novel, the hero of which is a painter, was severely criticized by
all the artists who were friends of the author: Monet, Cdzanne, Renoir, Pissarro, etc.,
as well as by Antoine Guillemet who had supplied Zola with much information about
the milieu treated in the novel.
68
ERAGNY [FEBRUARY 16, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
It's simply heartbreaking — enough to drive one mad. Durand
sends me nothing. It is hard enough to be forced to leave urgent
work in order to keep running to Paris to place some miserable
gouaches. — This cannot continue, I am fed up . . . Durand is
playing a dangerous game with us, he is lucky that nobody wants
our work, mine in particular. We will have to calm down and
crawl into our shells.
Don't forget to ask Nunes for a little money for me. I am very
worried and the future is not promising! — Explain to him that I
have been abandoned by Durand who nevertheless asks me for
canvases.
Of course you can stay in Paris until you have seen Guillaumin
and company j give them my best and tell Guillaumin that I am
much discouraged by Monet's remark that the exhibition may not
be held; discouraged above all by the fact that Madame Manet
[Berthe Morisot] does not expect it to take place, that is a very
bad sign. — You have to stir these people up, and keep after them
continually.
PARIS [MARCH 2, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I can well believe that your mother is completely upset by the
fact that the money didn't come on Monday, I am exasperated
myself. Lionel [Nunes] has an unconscious cruelty, which in such
a sensitive boy is frightening. Knowing all my troubles, he is
neither generous nor does he spare me embarrassment. But what
enthusiasm! what joy when he received the fan. Which did not
prevent him from failing to meet me. He is cruel enough to make
me run after him. Too much wordy veneration; I don't know what
he arranged with you, but I will not again ask him for money! —
I had asked him to give me 100 francs, which was what he owed
me for the fan.
Nothing to report about the exhibition. I am afraid it will not
be held on account of Degas who insists that it run from May 1 5 to
June 15. — Absurd!
69
I am expecting to hear from Portier about my gouaches. Paulin
has met a new collector, I hope something will come of it, but I
suppose Portier must proceed slowly. I shall see him shortly and if
there is news I will write you tomorrow.
PARIS [MARCH, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I expect to go with Guillaumin to see Madame Manet [Berthe
Morisot], and try to come to an understanding about the exhibi-
tion. There has been a hitch since nobody agrees.
My plan, in case Durand had nothing for me, was to entrust
Heymann with the sale of my oils while permitting Portier to
handle the gouaches at his leisure. Besides, I know for a fact that
Portier is really doing his best. — If I had two or three canvases of
about 24 x 20 inches I would let Heymann handle them. I much
regret having given Durand my Cows in the Field [701]. But
careful! As you say. ... I have great hopes in Portier. — I got
only 50 francs from Lionel [Nunes], and that wasn't easy to get.
I shall not ask him for anything ever again, he makes me chase
after him, I've had enough of it, I have been made a fool of too
often to take him at his word!
Your Peasant is really fine; Guillaumin, Signac, Seurat, Gau-
guin think so too. — My only criticism is that the apron is just a
bit clumsy, you have to make some changes, just a few, but in the
right place. "It's amazing," some said, "that this was done on
wood." It had been taken for a pencil drawing. It does indeed
render the matiere well. But that is not the quality I prize in the
work, what pleases me is the drawing which is really fine and
simple, and the values which are better than I expected. It would
be grand if you could do the interior equally well. Try to vary
your cut to avoid monotony, and don't forget the firmness and
variety of the outline. Do you follow me?
PARIS [MARCH 5, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
No news yet, I still don't know what is happening with my
gouaches. A number of collectors promised to visit Portier; he
70
must have seen them. I won't get news until about six o'clock this
evening. As for Durand, it is impossible to separate him from a
single penny. — But now I don't count on him, I am waiting for
Portier to sell some things, then I will repair to Eragny and make
or finish several small canvases, and have them handled by Gosset
or Heymann — although the latter won't commit himself about my
work. — I sounded him out and spoke to him of placing my can-
vases, without actually asking him to handle them. His answer was
extremely vague; evidently he understood what I wanted but was
waiting for a categorical request. When the time comes, I'll see
what is to be done; he often said that he could impose anything he
favored on his collectors.
The exhibition is completely blocked. Guillaumin was not able
to go with me to M. Eugene Manet's yesterday, it has been put off
until Saturday. We shall try to get Degas to agree to showing in
April, if not we will show without him. If we do not settle the
whole thing in the next four or five days, it will be dropped alto-
gether. Degas doesn't care, he doesn't have to sell, he will always
have Miss Cassatt and not a few exhibitors outside our group,
artists like Lepic.1 If they have some success he will be satisfied. But
what we need is money, otherwise we could organize an exhibition
ourselves. I shall find out what Madame Manet thinks, but I am
afraid she will not want to appear with us if Degas does not. In
that case the whole thing will be off, there won't be any exhibition,
for to spend money exhibiting at the same time as the official Salon
is to run the risk of selling nothing. Miss Cassatt and Degas say
that this is no objection, but it's easy to talk that way when you
don't have to wonder where your next meal will come from !
I just ran into Bracquemond. He talked a good deal about color
and about his experiments with warm and cold tones. His conclu-
1 Since the impressionists had to cover all the expenses for their exhibitions the par-
ticipation of the wealthy members of the group like Degas, Miss Cassatt, Berthe
Morisot (Edouard Manet's sister-in-law), Caillebotte, etc., was essential from a financial
as well as from an artistic point of view. Poor artists like Pissarro, Gauguin, Guillaumin
and their friends could not raise the necessary funds by their own efforts. On the other
hand, Degas was not interested in exhibitions restricted to the group members; he was
even opposed to such shows. He believed that it was desirable to appeal to a wider
public and consequently wanted to include well known semi-official painters whose
works would tone down the audacity of the impressionist canvases. Since the first im-
pressionist exhibitions he had insisted on inviting some of his personal friends like
Zandomeneghi, de Nittis, Count Lepic, Rouart, and so on, artists who were not in any
sense members of the impressionist group and who also showed at the official Salon.
71
sions are very interesting and curiously enough are close to what
we spoke of.
[PARIS, MARCH 6, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Portier reports that he has sold a gouache. He will try to let me
have the money tonight. I expected to call on Madame Manet
today, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it.
I gave the doctor all the money I had : 1 0 francs. If I can collect
anything at all, I will leave tomorrow, otherwise I will wait.
PARIS [MARCH 8, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I went to Paulin's this morning. I banked on his having seen
the collector who was interested in my gouache ; unhappily he had
not, so I am still here. Luckily at about five o'clock Durand re-
turned, and gave me three hundred francs. He announced that he
would probably leave for America at the end of this week.1
I hope the question of the exhibition will be settled tonight 5
Degas, I think, is trifling with us. And I hope it can be arranged
without the old impressionists. We can always try to found some-
thing more permanent.
PARIS [MARCH, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Because of Degas I missed the post last night. We went in a body
to meet him to determine the number of paintings each would be
allowed to exhibit. As usual, he arrived at an impossible hour. We
had to stand in the street discussing the matter. Things are going
well. —
1 Leaving his gallery under the direction of his son Joseph, Paul Durand-Ruel left for
New York on March 11, 1886, accompanied by his son Charles, with 100 canvases,
works of Millet, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Degas, Whistler, Morisot,
Boudin, Guillaumin, Forain, Seurat, Signac, and so on.
72
I went to dinner with the impressionists. This time a great many
came : Duret brought Burty, an influential critic, Moore, the Eng-
lish novelist, the poet Mallarme, Huysmans, M. Deudon, and M.
BeVard; it was a real gathering. Monet had been in Holland, — he
arrived from The Hague at eight o'clock, just in time for dinner. —
I had a long discussion with Huysmans, he is very conversant with
the new art and is anxious to break a lance for us. We spoke of
the novel His Masterpiece. He is decidedly of my opinion. It seems
that he had a quarrel with Zola, who is very worried. Guillemet,
who is furious about the book, also wrote to Zola, but only to
complain that Fagerolles is too easily identifiable. They are telling
a charming anecdote in connection with the book : Guillemet, who
worships Zola, and with good reason, wanted his name to appear
on this work, which he was certain would add to Zola's renown. He
wrote Zola, requesting that the book be dedicated to him. Zola,
very embarrassed, as you can imagine, by this expression of ad-
miration, replied that he was reserving all dedications until the
whole Rougon-Macquart series appeared. But since His Master-
piece was published, Guillemet's ardor has melted like butter in
the sun; he wrote Zola a long letter of complaint. Zola assured him
that it was Gervex he had described.1 Guillemet calmed down, com-
pletely content with this explanation. — As for Gervex, he takes
a different attitude. He has his friends call him "Fagerolles." At
X's marriage he paraded this name. <*
What I have written you should not be repeated.
Yesterday I had a violent run-in with M. Eugene Manet on the
subject of Seurat and Signac. The latter was present, as was Guil-
laumin. You may be sure I rated Manet roundly. — Which will not
please Renoir. — But anyhow, this is the point, I explained to M.
Manet, who probably didn't understand anything I said, that
Seurat has something new to contribute which these gentlemen,
despite their talent, are unable to appreciate, that I am personally
convinced of the progressive character of his art and certain that in
time it will yield extraordinary results. Besides I am not concerned
with the appreciation of artists, no matter whom. I do not accept
1 As a matter of fact the character of Fagerolles, the worldly and unprincipled
painter who adapts the theories of the impressionists to the corrupt taste of the public,
was not inspired by Guillemet. Zola's notes about his character establish this beyond
doubt; in his notes Zola conceives Fagerolles as "a shrewd rogue who keeps apart and
breaks with the group. Maupassant and Gervex. I can make him get his reputation
through the support of fashionable women (Bourget)."
73
the snobbish judgments of "romantic impressionists" to whose in-
terest it is to combat new tendencies. I accept the challenge, that's
all.
But before anything is done they want to stack the cards and
ruin the exhibition. — Monsieur Manet was beside himself! I didn't
calm down. — They are all underhanded, but I won't give in.
Degas is a hundred times more loyal. — I told Degas that Seu-
rat's painting was very interesting. "I would have noted that my-
self, Pissarro, except that the painting is so big!" * Very well — if
Degas sees nothing in it so much the worse for him. This simply
means there is something precious that escapes him. We shall see.
Monsieur Manet would also have liked to prevent Seurat from
showing his figure painting. I protested against this, telling Manet
that in such a case we would make no concessions, that we were
willing, if space were lacking, to limit our paintings ourselves, but
that we would fight anyone who tried to impose his choice on us.
But things will arrange themselves somehow!
Schuffenecker 2 has been to see Monsieur and Madame Manet.
The latter went to see his work and accepted it. What do you think
of that? After his letter which was so dignified! — I have just seen
a still life of his, and it's truly terrible.
PARIS [MARCH, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I wrote you this morning and explained the difficulties we must
surmount to hold this eternal exhibition. But I hope for the best,
there is smoother sailing now. — We shall show our work together
in the same room, you, Seurat, Signac and I; in this way we can
arrange the hanging of our works together.
They are beginning to decry our paintings, even those who be-
fore hailed us most warmly ; it is so absurd.
1 Seurat intended to show his large canvas A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of
la Grande Jatte.
2 Emile Schuffenecker, one of Gauguin's closest friends who had been influenced by
everybody and thus did not develop his own style. In 1886 he showed with the impres-
sionists.
74
ERAGNY [APRIL 5, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I agree with Guillaumin and his friends, the Petit gallery is a
grandiose place for an exhibition x that is true, but I think that a
modest show of works by Degas, Miss Cassatt, Madame Morisot,
etc., etc., will not lose by comparison. So much the better, I like it
better that way. Isn't Renoir curious? he gives out that he will
exhibit but vacillates. I don't know whether Madame Morisot will
keep to her word. It is my view that in such circumstances there
are not two courses of action. As for Degas, he would be delighted
by a fight} after all a fight provides the occasion for determining
who is on your side. — All in all they are four; we can at best count
on Degas, Madame Morisot, Miss Cassatt and Guillaumin, by right
of seniority myself perhaps! — That makes five against four —
without counting the newcomers who will show their mettle under
fire! Now that should be interesting. — It is true the others will
consider themselves the pure impressionists. I think Petit is behind
them.
ERAGNY [APRIL 24, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
They have found a place [for the exhibition] ! Good news at last,
and there's no question of a slip-up. It is probably the same place,
above the Maison Dore.
The exhibition was finally held above the Restaurant Dord at
the corner of rue Laffitte and the boulevard des Italiens. The show
ran from May 15 to June IS, which was what Degas had de-
manded. On Degas' insistence the word "impressionist" was omit-
ted from the announcement and the exhibition was called "Eighth
Exhibition of Paintings." The list of exhibitors included: Madame
1 Georges Petit, possessed of a great fortune and with a magnificent hall in which
to hold exhibitions, was the most formidable rival of Durand-Ruel. Zola, taking a
hint from Guillemet, termed the Petit Gallery: "the department store of painting."
* That is to say the five exhibitors, Degas, Morisot, Cassatt, Guillaumin and Pissarro,
against those of the old group who would not be represented in this exhibition: Renoir,
Monet, Sisley and Caillebotte.
75
Marie Bracquemond, Miss Mary Cassatt, MM. Degas, Forain,
Gauguin, Guillaumin, Madame Berthe Morisot, MM. C. Pissarro,
Lucien Pissarro, Odilon Redon, Rouart, Schuffenecker, Seurat,
Signac, Tillot, Vignon, Zandomeneghi.
Degas exhibited 15 pastels, mostly of women at their toilette.
Gauguin showed 19 paintings, including several views of Rouen
and a landscape done in Denmark where he had gone after total
failure in Rouen. He left his family in Denmark when he returned
to France.
Camille Pissarro was represented by the following paintings (all
executed with little dots in the divisionist manner), pastels,
gouaches, and etchings: View from My Window on a Grey Day
[696]; Fields of Bazincourt, Morning; Slopes of Bazincourt, Af-
ternoon [698] $ Pear Trees in Bloom, Morning [697 ] $ Autumn,
Picking Apples [695] ; Marshes of Bazincourt, in Autumn; Full
Sun, Peasant in the Fields ; Mother and Child [691] $ Cows and
Peasants, gouache belonging to M. G. Berend; Peasants in the Sun,
gouache^ Girl Tending Geese, gouache belonging to M. Samson
[1467]; Peasants, fan, gouache; six studies of peasants, pastels;
Potato Harvesting, etching [D. 63]; Rue de VEpiccrie in Rouen,
[D. 64]; and rue Malpalue, in Rouen, [D. 53], etchings; Cows
and Landscape, etching [D. 59 J ; Harbor of Rouen in the Rain
[D. 44] and Landscape, etchings; Landscape in Rouen [D. 50] and
Landscape in Osny [D. 62], etchings.
Seurat exhibited three drawings and six paintings including "A
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte," which was
most laughed at of all the paintings exhibited.
PARIS [JUNE, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Signac leaves today for Les Andelys. Durand-Ruel will arrive
at the end of the month only to leave again ; he will stay only for
a fortnight. He is very satisfied with his exhibition [in America] ,
he hasn't sold anything,1 but he has great hopes, his expenses
1 This may apply to Pissarro's works, but as a whole the exhibition in New York was
more than just a moral success. Within two weeks after its opening The New York
Daily Tribune announced that seven to eight pictures had been sold. And the show
lasted two months.
76
were enormous, still he has his hopes, but this will not help us.
The exhibition goes very slowly, no visitors.
Portier told me that he is practically certain to sell my little
canvas in dots. That would be perfect, that would be 400 francs
which would keep us until better times. — And now I am going to
try harder to sell. This is a bad moment for an exhibition.
I forgot to tell you that Seurat, Signac, Gauguin, Guillaumin
expect to show with the Independent Artists and advise you to
show too.1 Seurat will keep your things in his studio. I will prob-
ably leave some of my things with him until Durand arrives.
PARIS [JULY, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I had a long talk with Durand-Ruel about his American ven-
ture.2 What he said seems reasonable enough : there are two op-
posite versions of what befell in America, both are equally exag-
gerated : he did not make a fortune with miraculous luck nor did
he engage in sharp practice and have to decamp. He is very glad
that he went to New York himself, and he has great hopes in
possible developments there. All this is quite vague, but proves,
at any rate, that everything is not lost. If we are not saved by
Durand, someone will take us up, since our work is sure to sell in
the end. For the present, I am trying to find some means of sup-
port until my paintings sell. Durand promised me some money this
week, he expects to have some, he said, but he has made so many
promises, that I can't depend on him; if I can sell something, I
will. — But to whom?
Monet and Renoir knew in advance that Durand was to arrive.
They were here from the 18th, but I know that both of them
think as I do, and are waiting to see what will happen. They re-
ceived no more money than I did. —
1 That year the exhibition of the Independent Artists was to have run from August
20 to September 17. The Society of Independent Artists had been founded in 1884 by
Redon, Seurat, Signac, Cross, Angrand, etc. The organization proposed to hold exhibi-
tions in which all the artists could participate without having to submit work before a
jury.
1 Durand-Ruel returned from New York on the 18th of July. He remarks in his
memoirs that without the American show he would very likely have been unable to
emerge from the financial difficulties which beset him in 188 S -86. His success in New
York restored his optimism. He was planning to return there for a second exhibition.
77
This morning I went to see Legrand, naturally we discussed the
American venture. Legrand confided to me that he had been asked
by Knoedler, the Goupil of New York and hostile to Durand, for
some impressionist paintings. Durand had better be careful, or he
will lose the game. We cannot go on in such poverty, willy-nilly
we shall have to break with Durand. Legrand also said that he
would probably leave for New York in September, and that he
would be willing to represent us and place our paintings with
Knoedler. He even hopes eventually to supplant Durand. — But
what's holding them up? We are a good investment, yet nobody
seems to have a few thousand francs for some half a dozen can-
vases on which they can make a profit! — Strange! And when the
paintings begin to sell they will come at once — how make paintings
to order? But now not a single friend with enough confidence in
me to lend me enough to keep alive.
PARIS [JULY, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I daily expect that cursed telegram from New York which is to
deliver me and enable me to work. But it has not come.
Durand tells me that his affairs promise well, that we should not
give up the game. As a matter of fact he is more determined than
ever to persevere. I must wait — since nothing has turned up.
This morning I showed my drawings and etchings to a little
dealer, also your woodcuts and watercolors. — He does not think my
drawings are salable, they are too "made" and not interesting
enough; however he wanted the pastel portrait of Titi [1553]; he
offered 60 francs for it, including the frame. I refused, for I can't
go that low, having received 200 francs from a collector. I asked
150 or at least 100 francs, if he would take four; he turned the
offer down. All the same I know that he wants some impressionist
works, there is no doubt about that but he wants to get them for
nothing.
Try to get a little money from Dumas,1 so that I won't have to
lower my prices too much. I must be able to hold out until Durand
can help me. — Since it isn't easy, as you can see, to place anything
1 The publisher of La Revue Illustree, in which drawings by Lucien appeared occa-
sionally.
78
with dealers, I would still like Durand to handle my works ; the
others are too hesitant ! Your mother must be exasperated with me,
but the truth is that I constantly run after the dealers and do not
waste a single opportunity. I am obliged to dance attendance on
them, for a single rendezvous I lose five or six days. They don't
show up, they forget, etc., etc., she doesn't know the embarrass-
ment I feel, the explanations I must make, the absurd discussions
I must endure. — And if all this led to something : but no, nothing!
It is heartbreaking. —
Tell your mother not to be too impatient, if she can wait just
a bit longer the moment must come when we will be out of this
mess.
PARIS [JULY, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
To my great regret I still cannot leave Paris. In the course of
a long talk Durand gave the same old explanation : payment had
been delayed. He told me that he had made up his mind to keep
us going, that he would devote himself to this end, that he was
certain to succeed, that I should not be discouraged, etc., etc., in
short he said everything one would expect him to say — which
might prove that he is not going to give up the game. — But in the
meantime, I discussed our affairs with Legrand. The latter is try-
ing to push us, I think. — He told me he would speak of me to
Knoedler, I ought to drop in and see him Tuesday. — If Durand
doesn't watch out, the grass will be cut under his feet. — He sus-
pects us much. I warned him that I was determined to sell my
work. But he need not fear, no exploiters have presented them-
selves! They are so anxious not to make a mistake, they are so
gingerly, it is farcical. Just the same, something is brewing.
PARIS [JULY 27, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Still nothing! Durand told me yesterday that he is expecting a
check from New York any day now. I hope it will not be long
delayed. — The weather is very unfavorable, I can stay here for a
while, particularly since I caught cold Sunday.
79
Durand has been to Petit's, he has seen the Renoirs; he does
not like Renoir's recent style, not at all. As for Monet, he has with-
drawn his landscapes of Holland.
Yesterday I saw Portier, always the same, desperate, discour-
aged. I have not yet seen Heymann.
Talk to your mother and try to keep her from worrying too
much; urge her to be patient for just a little longer.
PARIS, JULY 30, 1886
My dear Lucien,
I received the case of paintings.
Durand likes my paintings, but not the style of execution. His
son, the one who went to New York with him, saw them but has
not said a word to me. — Durand prefers the old execution, how-
ever he grants that my recent paintings have more light — in short,
he isn't very keen. My Grey Weather 1 doesn't please him; his son
and Caseburne 2 also dislike it. What kills art in France is that they
only appreciate works that are easy to sell. It appears that the sub-
ject is unpopular. They object to the red roof and backyard [721]
just what gave character to the painting which has the stamp of
a modern primitive, and they dislike the brick houses [679], pre-
cisely what inspired me. You should all see how calm and simple
is this painting next to the romantic extravagance of my canvas
of Cows [701]. Curiously enough, Durand is not bothered by the
passionate style of execution in this work.
I very much fear that Durand will again let me go for a long
time. And I won't kill myself to sell to the first comer! This is a
bad moment, for nobody is in Paris.
I am really furious about having to waste my time here, but
I don't understand how this world of tradesmen operates. — Those
who buy don't pay, Durand assured me that Petit didn't give
Monet a cent, and that neither did Clapisson who bought the
landscapes of Holland, Clapisson being a stooge of Durand him-
self.— I take all that with a grain of salt. In the meantime we must
hope for a solution for all of us through Durand, but as always,
don't say a word.
1 See fig. 2S.
2 Durand-RueVs cashier.
80
i t / .< rr-s
13. — C. Pissarro: La rue de la Grosse Horloge a Rouen, 1883.
'It-n J l/l tig/ft cUU<a* a. Il&tjuit /' . /,i/«rr(
14. — C. Pissarro: La rue Malpalue a Rouen, 1883.
I saw John Lewis Brown yesterday, he is no better off than I
am, and doesn't know what to think. — And many others are in
the same straits, it is maddening.
PARIS [SEPTEMBER 15, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
M. Feneon sent me the draft of his article; he wanted me to
look over certain passages dealing with the question of technique.
I am afraid that these questions are only too well explained and
that the painters will take advantage of us. I would have liked him
to discuss this with Seurat, but this is impossible.
PARIS [NOVEMBER, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I have just visited Dumas. He kept the two drawings, but he
will probably use only The Wagon. "Well, well," he said, "that's
really fine." He seemed very satisfied. As usual, we talked for a
long time about the stupidity of subscribers, publishers, and in-
vestors. I spoke to him about money; he directed me to the cashier
who replied that bills always had to be presented before the 1 Oth,
and that yours had come in too late.
Send me a list of the paintings your mother has in her room,
and send me the dates, I am about to make a selection for the show
in Brussels.2 I will include the two last paintings I did. Durand
just received them from London. That's strange !
The hostility of the romantic impressionists is more and more
marked. They meet regularly, Degas himself comes to the cafe,
Gauguin has become intimate with Degas once more, and goes
to see him all the time — isn't this seesaw of interests strange? For-
1 Filix Fdndon, a friend of Seurat and Signac, was from the very beginning an
ardent defender of their work. In 1886 he had published in La Vogue, the review edited
by Gustave Kahn, a series of articles on the impressionists. The reference here is
doubtless to an article on the neo-impressionist technique which was to appear in
September in the Belgian review L'Art Moderne.
2 The paintings were to be sent to the exhibition organized by Les Vingt. This Bel-
gian group, led by Octave Maus, each year invited a number of foreign artists to its
exhibitions. In 1887 it was the neo-impressionist sJ turn. Pissarro, Seurat, Signac, etc.
were invited.
81
gotten are the difficulties of last year at the seashore, forgotten
the sarcasms the Master hurled at the sectarian, forgotten all that
he [Gauguin] told me about the egotism and common side of
Guillaumin. I was naive, I defended him [Gauguin] to the limit,
and I argued against everybody. It is all so human and so sad. —
They are angry with us, and will not pardon me for being sincere
enough to want to be faithful to my deepest convictions.
PARIS, DECEMBER 5, 1886
My dear Lucien,
I forgot whether I mentioned in my last letter that M. Pillet
was delighted with my fans; he told me that my work was in no
way unclear, and that many people up till now opposed to impres-
sionism have been struck by the clarity and strength of the draw-
ing, and he felt that I had conquered the monotony which the
desire to be sober and harmonious often brings. — Goodness! He
was somewhat hurt by the two little Signacs and a little also by the
strange rectilinear drawing of Seurat, but his criticism was not
severe, their pictures are so clear, so fair, and have such sincerity.
I might mention that I have been invited to the opening of
Chinese shadow-plays. I asked for permission to transfer the
invitation to you. The show will take place in the "Chat Noir"
in about a week. You have heard of the author : Caran d'Ache. I
was at John Lewis Brown's and I was introduced to M. Caran.
He is a very elegant young man, quite unusual, with a somewhat
Russian manner, full of that wit which brings such speedy and
complete success in Paris. If you are interested, Brown will intro-
duce you to him; this would be just a formality for he knows all
about you and has great admiration for your engravings which
appeared in La Revue Illustree.
Lately I have been going with Seurat, Signac and Dubois-Pillet
to La Nouvelle-Athenes$ entering one evening, we saw Guillau-
min, Gauguin, Zandomeneghi. — Guillaumin refused to shake
hands with Signac, so did Gauguin; there was some explanation;
impossible to understand a word of it; it appears that the cause
was that affair in Signac's studio, a misunderstanding. Neverthe-
less Gauguin left abruptly without saying goodbye to me or to
Signac. — Guillaumin came over to shake hands and asked whether
82
I was going to dine with the impressionists on Thursday. Much
surprised, I replied that this was the first time I had heard of the
dinner. You can be sure that I won't spend thirteen to fifteen
francs for dinner; I have three francs in my pocket, and besides
we no longer understand each other. It seems that the old group
will close ranks; as for me, I insist on the right to go my own way.
— So much the worse for the narrow-minded!- — That Seurat was
invited to Brussels must have surprised them. At Petit's, Monet
and Renoir have recommended John Lewis Brown for the exhibi-
tion of the French Vingtistes (Petit Exhibition) . What do you say
to that? . . . they who cannot endure his work! — The impression-
ists are done for, no matter what the sectarian Gauguin says, I
do not believe Degas will succeed in rallying them. — Degas will
look for new elements among the opportunists of the Salon, the
Scotts, on this score I even told Daumoulin who asked me to ex-
hibit to address himself to Degas! As far as we are concerned, from
the way these gentlemen treat us, it is clear that I alone will be
invited [to the Petit Exhibition] . — I await them without waver-
ing! Please understand that our role is very simple; we must stand
alone ! We have the stuff to be strong. —
I am running to Pillet's. Until next time. I was invited to
Dubois-Pillet's 1 Sunday, Fendon will be there as well as Seurat-
Signac.
PARIS [DECEMBER 6, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
It seems that Rochefort is greatly taken with the charm of this
new art; he remarked that the color is very delicate and the design
is as precise as with the primitives. I do not believe, my dear
Lucien, that to be understood, I shall have to wait again as long
as I did when I made my debut; since I already have something
of a reputation a good part of the ground has already been cov-
ered, one complete exhibition — and we will have arrived. — This
is why I am so concerned with the Brussels show. — Monsieur Pil-
let advises me to send only new works, his argument being that
the public will be confused by two different techniques. M. Pillet,
1 The painter Dubois-Pillet was an ardent adherent of neo-impressionism. It was he
who drafted the constitution of the Society of Independent Artists in 1SS4.
85
who is very intelligent, is enchanted with the movement, and
claims that Monet will have no recourse but to join it, since he
must feel the need to achieve what the impressionists lacked —
great purity of design.
I saw Guillaumin. We went to look at my two latest paintings
which were bought by Durand. All he said was "there's no firm-
ness in the foreground." It was evening, we were seeing the paint-
ings by gas light, which neutralized the orange tones. As Seurat
says, what they look for is thick impasto; but at Clauzet's I saw
a Guillaumin, also in the evening, and it looked made of tar, so
much shellac was used at the base of this painting, which in my
view is really old stuff} it must be admitted that he made an effort
to tighten the design but then the harmonies are insignificant and
lack logic, there is no drawing, there is a flurry of colors, but no
modeling} it is one step from Jules Dupre — modernized.
I am calmly confident, we have before us a superb art and
admirable research — which should interest anyone who is sincere.
I am here without a cent, I shall be hard put to find a solution.
— Even if I wanted to leave I would not be able to do so without
borrowing. I would rather lose time now, when the days are short
and my paintings are drying, but this is a difficult moment, New
Year's day is terrible for selling expensive objects, people only give
sweets as gifts nowadays, this costs only a few francs and is better
received.
Zandomeneghi looks at me with compassion and seems even
mournful. It is very curious. . . .
PARIS, DECEMBER 10, 1886
My dear Lucien,
Great news, which I am sure will please you. I expected to leave
today, having achieved nothing from my two agents, but Aj albert
insisted that I remain for a while so as to meet Monsieur Gustave
Kahn and discuss with him some illustrations for La Vogue, this
is not to be repeated. It seems that Kahn is thinking of changing
the character of this publication, he may propose that we, the
scientific impressionists, and none others, do all the illustrations.
There is a catch, he would not be able to pay at first, the point
would be to set things going and if the sheet becomes known and
sells then we will be paid. — It seems to me that in any case it
84
will be good publicity for you, La Vogue will have a new format
and will be elegantly printed on very fine paper.
You must have received a signed copy of Fendon's brochure. At
the same time La Revue Independante appeared, but everything
in this journal is decadent, verging on the decadent or academic.
The publisher, as pusillanimous as ever, tries to conciliate the hare
and the hounds. — A colorless review. Kahn wants La Vogue to
maintain its clear character, and as I see it, that is the only way
to achieve something permanent.
Dumas [of La Revue Illustree] pleases neither those with taste
nor those without. He wants to have a publication which will last
and flatter neither the good nor the bad. Either the one or the
other. All this portends a new idea of illustration, we must light
the fire and let the wind blow on the flame.
Did I inform you that Martinet took the shop on the boulevard
and at the corner of the rue du Helder and has put his show win-
dow at our disposal? I discussed this offer with Seurat and Signac :
accepted. It opens next week. We expect to exhibit there. However
passersby will not purchase anything, that is understood ! . . .
P.S. Doing drawings for La Vogue means entering pictorial
journalism and getting acquainted with agents who may eventu-
ally help us publish our folder Travaux des Champs? It is so diffi-
cult when you are not known, it is imperative that we make you
known, in fact make all of us known to the publishers, thus by
helping each other we will all get work. What do you think?
ERAGNY [DECEMBER 24, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Of course it is something to be able to appear in a newspaper,
but you must protect yourself against those damned businessmen
who lie in wait at the press, and only want artists who will agree
to work for nothing. ... I agree with Paul Alexis that one must
always demand payment, even if only the tiniest sum is involved,
1 The reference is to the brochure, Les Impressionnistes en 1886, a collection of the
articles analyzing and defending Neo-impressionism.
* Camille and Lucien Pissarro had conceived the following project: drawings by
Camille, representing the seasons of the year and the types of work done in the fields,
were to be cut on wood by his son. The project was later abandoned and only a few
engravings in the series remain.
85
simply to safeguard the principle. Otherwise these gentlemen will
get accustomed to not paying, and if they can easily find compliant
artists, the time will come when they will discharge anyone who
asks to be paid! . . .
I have finished my picture for the Brussels' show. That is to
say the picture belonging to Durand and the one of the Fields of
Bazincourt. I will take them to Paris on my next trip there.
ERAGNY [DECEMBER 27, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
I will have to leave for Paris as soon as you return.
I did two drawings with pen and in little dots a Little Market
and a St. Martin (pig dealers) , it would be a good thing if I
could sell them to some newspaper, that would bring us a few
pennies. ... I still don't know what I am going to do, for Heymann
seems completely indifferent. He probably knows my position and
naturally is waiting for me to reduce my prices, just as Durand
did last time. . . .
ERAGNY [DECEMBER 50, 1886]
My dear Lucien,
Your letter, which we got this morning, is not at all reassuring.
We are more and more anxious about the non-arrival of the sixty
francs. . . . We just needed this!
It is always like that, as soon as a painting leaves your posses-
sion, a client comes along who wants it; the next time I go to
Paris I will try to get Durand to surrender the canvas I am asked
for. ... I will bring the two canvases for the exhibit in Brussels,
I worked hard on the one belonging to Durand — I was yoked to
this one for fifteen days; I believe it is much improved, more
luminous; there is something strange about working with points
of color. ... If you are patient, after a while, bit by bit, you
achieve a surprising grace. ... If I had the time, I could work on
it much more, I am sure that it could be refined even further.
I don't understand at all what is said on both sides about
Durand. If he has made so much money through us, then what
86
15. — C. Pissarro: St. Martin — Pig dealers. Pen and ink drawing, 1886.
advantage would it be to him to drop us? I believe that the truth
is that Durand did make money but that he had to make pay-
ments and that is why there is not a penny for the painters. . . .
The proof is that Durand is still here for lack of money. I am very
pleased that Raffaelli gave you an introduction for the Courrier
87
Frangais, it was very kind of him. Who the devil told him that I
was angry with the old group? It seems to me that they are the
ones who are offended, and all because I have the cheek to have
an idea which they don't share. These authoritarians are intrac-
table and incorrigible, but they are men of genius !
I told you that I made two drawings in dots. I have done another
in the same manner : The Wheat Market at Gisors, A Lace Mer-
chant at Pontoise, an ordinary pen drawing, and a Shepherd and
Sheep in the same style. If we could place these we could get a
few cents while waiting for this terrible month of January to pass,
. . . These drawings matted look very well.
88
PARIS [JANUARY 7, 1887J
My dear Lucien,
I wasn't able to write you, for I had to husband my last few
cents j the weather has been so bad that I couldn't do any of the
things I had in mind.
Durand was not able to open the exhibition in New York, it
seems that the Paris dealers have leagued with those in New York
to create difficulties for him.1 They schemed so well that they
were able to conjure away all the show-rooms in New York, so
that Durand will not be able to hold his exhibit until April.
And now we shall have to fight for our position on La Vogue.
Lebre a has such influence with the review that we may well be
relegated to last place. I think it would be wise not to appear in
the first issue; have they not given the cover to our worst enemy,
to him who robs us, who is regarded as our leader if only because
he uses our ideas, accommodating them to the taste of the vulgar,
* According to Durand-RueV s memoirs the American dealers and not the French
created these difficulties. Taking it for granted that he would fail completely, they did
not oppose the organization of his first exhibition in New York. But when this was
successful, they got Washington to institute new customs rules which delayed Durand-
RueVs second show. Thus it was unable to open at the end of 1886 and had to be put
off until 1887, opening late in May of that year, a time very unfavorable for business.
And Durand-Ruel was confronted with this almost unsurmountable obstacle: each
painting he sold first had to be shipped back to France and imported a second time to
America. It was these complications which made Durand-Ruel finally decide to open a
branch in New York.
* Libre was the chief editor of the illustrated weekly La Vie Moderne, in which
drawings by Lucien Pissarro and other neo-impressionists often appeared. Renoir too
collaborated, at least in 1879, when his brother Edmond was the editor. But in general,
the drawings which appeared in the weekly were on a very low level.
89
I mean, of course, Besnard.1 It seems that they are counting on
Puvis de Chavannes, and hence all the Puvisites! We shall be
drowned, rubbed out once again, — but no, I say, let's not be such
innocents! — This evening we shall be able to discuss the matter,
there is to be a meeting, I will speak to Kahn and criticize the
choice they made without consulting us. — Besides I do not wish
to be subject to these gentlemen and I particularly object to having
M. Lebre pass judgments on my drawings, for this does not fall
within his competence. . . . Seurat and Signac completely support
my view that we must not be passed over. Even Puvis de Chavannes
should not be supported. Why? because he is our antithesis in
art, whatever his talent. He will necessarily use his influence to
get everything for his followers, to favor backward art and retard
our development as impressionists. In any case we must not expose
ourselves to enemies disguised as innovators. — But you are in a
different category, you can risk appearing anywhere, with you it
is entirely different. If we give drawings to La Vogue without be-
ing paid, the least the review could do would be to make our work
known, it would be foolish to work for the aggrandizement of
others. When I am paid it is another story, it is simply a question
of the terms offered!
Seurat sent two canvases to Martinet, the latter, after having
gone into raptures at Seurat's studio, began to stammer when
directly asked to exhibit the paintings : the gas light, the white
frame, the painter's own interest, etc., etc. I went to see him,
and since he had asked me to give him something to sell, he gave
the most threadbare excuses ; passing by with Seurat that evening
we saw the two canvases, they were shown not on the boulevard,
but on the rue de Helder. Again our secret enemies, the Boulards
and their consorts have been up to their old tricks. — I will send
him nothing.
I saw your painting at Pillet's, but he hasn't hung it. There are
two Monets, a Cliff and a Landscape of Vetheuil, I must say they
are inferior, they are rank, and the execution recalls certain
Gudins. . . . — Monet has too much talent not to recognize some
day that we are right.
Your painting is on the whole good, but I am sure that eventu-
ally you will see that it needs more development, that you can
1 Of Albert Besnard, a pseudo-impressionist, and a winner of the Grand Prix de
Rome, Degas said: "He flies with our wings."
90
give it more suppleness, and bring its colors to interpenetrate.
Tell your mother that I am enormously concerned about the
rent, etc., and that I am splitting my head to find a way out.
Today I am going to track down Heymann. Who will get me out
of this?
I shall not go to de Bellio's tomorrow. Being unable to afford
the dinner [of the impressionists] and not wanting to accept an
invitation, I have put off my visit until Saturday.
PARIS [JANUARY 9, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
We have come to an agreement with La Vogue: no Puvisites. —
The cover will be changed every three issues. . . . We shall be the
only illustrators. . . . Kahn was astonished by our rejection of
Besnard. . . .
Monet has been to Durand's, he brought the paintings he did
this year 5 he has one in bright sunlight, it is an incomprehensible
fantasy; M. Caseburne himself admitted to me that it is absolutely
incoherent, blobs of white mixed with Veronese greens and yel-
lows, and the drawing is completely lost. The other canvases are
more carefully done, better, but dark grey. My Eragny has more
calm, and you can see in this painting the advantage of unmixed
colors and clear and solid draftsmanship. I assure you I would
not be afraid to show my work with Monet's. Durand says that
Monet pities me because of the course I have taken. So! . . . Per-
haps he does, now . . . but wait. M. Robertson being insensitive
to Monet's qualities, Durand asked me to explain to him, in Eng-
lish, the good points of Monet's work. I did my best, loyally and
without hesitation, for despite his mistakes I know how gifted is
this artist, but M. Robertson can't stand his work. "And who
painted this horror?" It is true that he doesn't know anything,
but this simple man must be offended by the disorder which re-
sults from a type of romantic fantasy which despite the talent of
the artist, is not in accord with the spirit of our time. M. Robert-
son said several times : "I like your fans a hundred times better."
"Why didn't you buy them?" I replied. You must realize that even-
tually we shall have all those who are not haunted by romanticism,
who feel simple, naive nature, which does not exclude character
and science, like the primitives. Caseburne also pointed out: "But
91
your Eragny has more air and draftsmanship, I don't understand
the boss." I say this: Monet plays his salesman's game, and it
serves him; but it is not in my character to do likewise, nor is it
to my interest, and it would be in contradiction above all to my
conception of art. I am not a romantic! I would really have no
raison d'etre, if I did not pursue a considered technique which yet
leaves me free to express myself, and does not inhibit an artist
who has the gift.
PARIS, JANUARY 12, 1887
My dear Lucien,
Dubois-Pillet, knowing my difficult position, proposed to lend
me fifty francs. This was very kind of him for he is not rich.
Compelled by need, I wrote him that I would be glad to accept; I
will send you the money as soon as I get it. — Dubois-Pillet, inci-
dentally, won me over to dining with the "Independents," it was
after the dinner that he made his kind offer.
Descend from your glorious dreams of publishing in La Vogue:
yesterday afternoon Kahn dropped in at Signac's with the unex-
pected news that everything was disrupted, and that La Vogue
would be suspended for two or three months. ... I suppose the
printer or Lebre put a spoke in the wheel. By the way, do you
think your symbolist drawing is of interest? . . . People are inter-
ested in New Year's, the ills of the season, moving, snow, the Tar-
rasque, the war, etc.
PARIS, JANUARY 13, 1887
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday I saw Heymann, he seemed to think that Bismarck's
peace proclamation had and will continue to have great weight
with the collectors. Are these foxes so simple minded as to credit
that ruffian's treacherous words? So much the better then, perhaps
I can sell something, in any case I will strike while the iron is
hot and before this horrible chancellor changes his mind.
92
PARIS, JANUARY 14, 1887
My dear Lucien,
Nothing new since yesterday, except our meeting at Asnieres,
attended by Feneon, Seurat and Signac. ... I paid a visit to
Paulin who was most friendly. He asked for my Paris address
without my proposing anything, for I had not expected him to
be sympathetic} he asked me if my new technique had yielded
good results. I told him — it is no more than the truth — that my last
fans are clearer, more delicate and better drawn than the ones
he has; I hope an occasion will arise when I can prove this to him.
He is not more limited than anyone else, he will see that I am
right, but if I am too precipitous I may lose everything. . . . We
have to be patient, our detractors have either not really seen our
work, or seen it under adverse conditions. Once our paintings are
hung somewhere they will have an effect like our early can-
vases had on official art. Proof: the canvases of Monet at Pillet's
are sloppy and completely incoherent even to M. Pillet, who said
as much to me.
What annoys me most of all is being unable to settle anything
so that I can go back and finish what I began. I have a small order
— it will amount to a hundred francs — for a little canvas repre-
senting my new technique; unfortunately I have nothing except
my little Sunset; the foreground will have to be finished and I
need it to make the larger which I began — but if I must I'll do
without it. Look at it and write me your opinion, it is for Seurat's
mother who ordered it, and I don't want to give it in an unfinished
state.
PARIS, JANUARY 15, 1887
My dear Lucien,
Don't neglect to send me the little sunset painting, Autumn, of
which I am making a larger version; it is the small one I want,
the canvas of about sixteen inches, I believe. As soon as I receive
it I will receive a hundred francs; I will send you eighty francs,
for I need a few cents myself, having nothing left . . . Let your
mother not worry so much, this period will come to an end. I hope
the trembling collectors will be reassured by that Bismarck bunkum
and think of paintings.
93
PARIS, JANUARY 18, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I brought the painting to Seurat, he told me that it was just
what was wanted. The problem now is to get the money and send
it to you without delay, but since nothing comes without trouble,
here I am with a cold, feverish, unable to leave my room so foul
is the weather. I didn't sleep all night, how can I go and see
Seurat? I was to dine with them 5 impossible today, perhaps to-
morrow. . . .
Let's talk about your drawings: you are quickly discouraged ;
how do you know whether they are good or bad? — You cannot
see objectively what you have made yourself. — It is incredible
that, having done a drawing, you find it impossible to re-work it.
This is because you insist on copying — and you should not copy,
you should change, even the arrangement, as it suits you. When
you do a work over again you should get new sensations 5 you
should not copy slavishly but freely make use of your original
without arriere-pensee.
Durand-Ruel has not answered my letter. . . . Strange. ... I
wanted him to buy everything in my studio, except my pastels and
drawings. I am going to see M. Pillet, perhaps I can make a deal.
If I could, even at a sacrifice, get a few thousand francs, I would
be able to work tranquilly for a while. — And I would be willing
to sell everything except the ones belonging to your mother and
the ones hanging in the dining room. — Among these there are
several canvases that would appeal to those who like my former
style. Perhaps Murer could be persuaded? or perhaps he knows
someone who would be interested. Ask him.
PARIS, JANUARY 20, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I managed to send you the eighty francs yesterday. Luckily I
felt a little better, and I was able to go out in the afternoon 5 1 hur-
ried to Seurat's. Returning, I met Portier at Clauzet's. He in-
formed me that Bracquemond wants to discuss some important
matter with me . . . What can he have to say to me ? . . . Mysteri-
ous! . . . According to Portier he has some scheme up his sleeve.
94
. . . Has Gauguin something to do with it? . . . We shall see. . . .
Portier assured me that the only dealer anxious to buy my work
is Petit. He or another, that's all I want. It seems he is dreaming
of showing all the impressionists at his exhibitions. But this is
just gossip. Where the devil did Portier hear all that? . . . He
told me that business is miserable, and naturally has no collectors
for me. I saw Pillet who said that something might be arranged
with Petit. It would be a good sign if he bought some of my
new canvases. . . . We must not dream too much.
PARIS, JANUARY 21, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I am anxious to find a collector of good will. ... It is useless to
look, there aren't any. . . . Heymann has accomplished nothing,
indeed, he doesn't even seem to care, I do my best to prod him,
he does nothing 5 the problem seems to be very difficult, for it is
to his advantage to find a solution. — I went to M. Pillet's as I
wrote you in my last letter ; together we examined the problem
from every angle, our conclusion: nothing. He agreed to show
some of my recent canvases to Petit. But I am sure that Monet
and Renoir worked against me with Petit 5 perhaps I am exaggerat-
ing. ... At the moment the only thing left for me to do is to sell
my Degas pastel, it will be painful to let it go, but it can't be
helped. . . . What do you think? If I could get from five to eight
hundred francs it would certainly lighten our burden.
Tomorrow Bracquemond will visit me at your grandmother's j
he wrote me that what he had in mind will no longer interest me
but that he will come just the same, that he will be glad to see
my painting. I have nothing new here to show him . . .
I like your little fairy tale, only it is a bit long.1 The only
writers I know of who could re-write it are Fen£on and
A j albert. ... I shall speak to Feneon. He is very kind and I
believe he is interested in us. — But the real problem is with the
1 Lucien was then thinking of doing some albums for children, and had conceived
a story of a doll who sneezed which he wanted to illustrate. This project was not
realized. At this -period Lucien did a watercolor of The Queen of the Fishes, which
was not successful either. It was used in his book of the same title, published in
1894 at Epping.
95
publishers : they are all thieves. They put the knife to your throat
even if you are famous; isn't it like that in every brand of indus-
try, isn't fraud the rule? And they carry it off with an appearance
of childlike candor that completely disarms you ! I am waiting for
your drawings which I shall bring to Lebre, and I shall speak to
Feneon.
PARIS, JANUARY 22, 1887
My dear Lucien,
Despite the fog and cold, I went last evening to "La Taverne
Anglaise," where the young collaborators to La Vogue hold forth;
I was hoping to see Feneon, and he was there. — I asked him to
re- work your fairy tale; delighted to be of service to you he
took the manuscript remarking, "the title is quite perfect." I
will have his emendations in two or three days.
I went to the Toche show. He is a second Henri Regnault. . . .
Watercolors about eight to ten feet in size very skillfully done,
blazing with color, but not interesting. . . . This gentleman has
had an article written about him by Albert Wolff which must have
cost him plenty; the shameless, insolent, and yet influential critic
certainly gave him his money's worth. His laudation of this
shady character is enough to make one give up. Seurat knew
Toche. He is in no sense a Giotto, a primitive inventing his own
style. He is a shameless crook. He takes from everybody, he is
in no sense naive . . . besides he must be rich, he has had articles
about him in all the newspapers.
I am just about fed up with Paris . . . and I am making no
progress! The fact is that I can sell neither my new paintings
nor the other ones, so it is not the new technique which is respon-
sible. . . . Business is simply terrible! . . . But when will there be
a change!
I expect Bracquemond here at three o'clock. . . . What the devil
is he up to? What I want is to sell something, if only a very small
painting. But Bracquemond is a good fellow and has always be-
friended me, and if I can help him in any way, I shall.
No news of Guillaumin; he has not appeared at Clauzet's since
he made his contract. Gauguin is gone . . . completely disappeared
. . . but I did hear that this summer at the sea shore he laid down
the law to a group of young disciples, who hung on the words
96
of the master, that austere sectarian.1 At any rate it must be ad-
mitted that he has finally acquired great influence. This comes of
course from years of hard and meritorious work — as a sectarian!
P.S. Bracquemond just left. He knows a dealer who wants some-
thing of mine. He is a regular dealer, it seems ... a sharp
trader, but at least a dealer. "Good," I said to Bracquemond, "let's
try." Exploited on every side, one cannot be too discriminating.
To myself I say : what luck if something comes of it. I am wait-
ing for his answer.
PARIS, JANUARY 23, 1887
My dear Lucien,
Bracquemond told me that he took some of Gauguin's pictures
with him, hoping to sell them; he considered them good paintings
but . . . strange. ... A little confused, but after all interesting. . . .
Alas! All those to whom he showed the pictures became literally
angry, conceiving that they were being taken in. . . . He told me
that he strongly urged Gauguin not to show his paintings to the
dealer in question. . . . Bracquemond found him a job in a pottery
works. Bracquemond said that some of his things were good, others
not. All in all he seemed to imply that it was the art of a sailor,
a little taken from everywhere. . . . Aha, what do you think? I
was always discreet, but I am not surprised, I made up my mind
about him a long time ago, and while I won't say that he may
not change for the better, at bottom his character is anti-artistic,
he is a maker of odds and ends.
Bracquemond tells me that he looked attentively at my works
at our exhibition. Far from objecting to them, as I expected, he
said they were compactly drawn, and modeled, but he is shocked
by the dots; he enjoined me to stick to divisionism but not to use
the dot. — I said nothing to him of our experiments. He told me
that of all the impressionist painters he liked my work best; this
was not the first time he had said this; to each one his own taste.
He does completely accept my view that the old disorderly method
of execution has become impossible.
Before making up my mind about the Degas, I shall see whether
1 Paul Gauguin had spent the year of 1886 at Pont-Aven in Brittany. He became
the leader of the painters at the pension of '{La mere Gloannec."
97
I can do business with Bracquemond's dealer. Just the same I
shall look for a buyer. I'll sell the pastel but not the drawing
which is a gift from Degas, or an exchange for something of
mine. It would be indelicate.
PARIS, JANUARY 25, 1887
My dear Lucien,
The more I think of it, the more mortified I feel about parting
with the Degas, and the more convinced I am that our only course
is to sell it. It is painful to do so, it means losing one of our purest
joys. . . . Signac says it is worth at least a thousand francs. Arrange
somehow to get it to me undamaged; I am going to see Portier
about it. I have not heard from Bracquemond.
PARIS, FEBRUARY 4, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I shall have to leave for Eragny. I left a painting about 21 by
18 inches at Enot's, rue des Pyramides, and I expect him to get
my canvas which will come from Brussels. Signac promised to
make an effort to get my work sold in Brussels. I received a note
from him yesterday announcing his arrival and Seurat's. I am
expecting a letter with all the facts about the exhibition [of the
Vingt].
I also left with Paulin a fan which he is going to try to place
for mej by leaving things everywhere I am trying to arrive at a
solution, but the holy chants of war sounding all around us cry
halt to everything, the collectors no longer dare to buy, although
paintings are the best investment — and that's exactly what they
want.
I also have much to tell you about our group of scientific im-
pressionists. I learned much while staying in Paris and I shall
tell you what good Signac had to endure, and I too through him.
This is not to be repeated.
I met Sisleyj as ever, and like the others, he is secretive. He'll
show at Petit's this year. He told me that Durand may have sold
all his impressionist paintings to Mr. Robertson. That's why this
gentleman doesn't buy any more — he has enough.
98
ERAGNY [FEBRUARY 23, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I would gladly exhibit in Paris with the "Vingt," for they are
very sympathetic to us, but one has to be ready for a show, one
has to have a respectable quantity of canvases. Despite my hard
work, I haven't accomplished much. I would consider myself
lucky if I managed to have three canvases ready — even that figure
is problematical because I must sell no matter what. And to sell
I must remain in Paris, for when I leave my agents forget me,
having no one to prod them.
In any case to show would be a good thing and above all would
involve little expense. Is it not unfortunate that Seurat should be
so — how shall I say — so sick! 1 1 cannot understand such extraordi-
nary behavior. If not due to illness, it must have been planned,
but in any event it was simply stupid, for it will not prevent the
art of Signac and the others from developing on the basis of our
theory.
Nor can I understand what is in Renoir's mind — but who can
fathom that most variable of men? Who the devil got him to go
to Dubois-Pillet's — he would not take the trouble to visit Monet,
Sisley, or me? . . . There's something behind this! . . . Perhaps
those gentlemen who found it so hard to accept Guillaumin when
I defended him have changed their minds and now plan to pre-
sent him to Petit. . . .
This morning I received a letter from de Bellio. He writes that
he does not believe scientific research into the nature of color and
light can help the artist, neither can anatomy nor the laws of
optics. He wants to discuss these questions with me and find out
my views.
Now everything depends on how this knowledge is to be used.
But surely it is clear that we could not pursue our studies of light
with much assurance if we did not have as a guide the discoveries
of Chevreul and other scientists. I would not have distinguished
between local color and light if science had not given us the hint 5
the same holds true for complementary colors, contrasting colors,
etc. "Yes," he will tell me, "but these have always been taken
into account, look at Monet." It is at this point that the question
becomes serious!
1 This is doubtless an allusion to the fear Seurat had expressed at the time that
other painters might borrow his technique if his work were shown.
99
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 25, 1887
My dear Lucien,
This morning I received a letter from Signac who wants my
opinion about showing with the "Vingt." I shall write him that I
think it would be very good for us to exhibit with them 5 Seurat
is no doubt the only one who will have objections. His prudence
is so extreme. But we — or I, at least — have nothing to lose, since
I recognize no secret in painting other than that of the artist's
own sentiment, which is not easily swiped!
Tell Tanguy to send me some paints. What I need most are
ten tubes of white, two of chrome yellow, one bright red, one
brown lac, one ultramarine, five Veronese green, one cobalt j I
have on hand only one tube of white ... I expect to begin to
paint again from nature, and I need the colors.
ERAGNY [FEBRUARY 27, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
Here we are again in a hopeless mess . . . Just imagine ! the rela-
tive with whom the new maid had left her two children, suddenly,
without warning, arrived yesterday with the two little ones and
left them on our hands ! You can conceive what followed and how
gloomy your mother became. The poor maid was to be pitied, and
your mother pitied her. But how will all this end? The maid leaves
tomorrow for Auvers to find a place for the children. . . . While
this was what we desired, it took money, and your mother has
— she told me — nothing left! And you know how she is in such
circumstances! Here is the rock which must be raised again and
again, without stop, — and I was hoping to complete a new study
I just began from nature. But I shall have to go to Paris to raise
a few cents. ... I have no luck, the only one of my paintings
which was liked in Brussels belongs to Durand, — and he is not
at all satisfied with it, this very canvas had the knack of displeas-
ing Guillaumin, too . . . how luck favors me! ... Of the eleven
hundred francs sent us — nothing remains! . . . You will have
to get busy, my dear, for we both cannot stay [in Paris] at grand-
mother's, and eat and sleep there, unless you find a way to succeed
in business. . . .
100
Verhaeren's article is first rate.1 Ask Signac to give you the
address of this critic, I will send him my card. — Van Ryssel-
berghe's drawing is very good, it has character ; I like Meunier's
less, however it is not bad but out of proportion, and it is a bit
too much like Michelangelo !
All this does not bring us bread. . . . This epoch is certainly full
of stupidities; one has a reputation gained by many years of effort,
one has drudged, despite your mother's constant remarks to the
contrary, one has done the work of four to attain a true and
proper renown, the kind won in fair fight. Bah! It is as if one had
been singing to himself all the time, your bourgeois, when it is
a question of rewarding such efforts, turns his back on you. Even
people like Nunes, to whom I have made concessions, seem to take
me for an old idiot! ... As a final humiliation, I am forced to beg
people to buy one poor picture which cost me so much in toil. . . .
It is all very discouraging.
But after all, complaints and groans are of no avail : I will have
to return to Paris — and to my miseries of the last few months.
ERAGNY, MARCH 1, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter with the sixty francs. Really, if Hevmann
would take the trouble, I believe he could sell my painting?: one
thing is certain, they must have some value, I have not yet been
able to determine how much despite all my inquiries; all that
I have been able to find out is that Durand has sold almost all
our works; Sisley has confirmed this. Now Durand doesn't give
them away, and we can be sure that he has not lost money on
them. If I could track down the unknown buyer perhaps I could
sell him something more important than watercolors at twenty
francs. But whom shall I ask to help me? Monet and Renoir are
uncommunicative, they know some collectors but are cool to me,
and Duret himself is playing possum. So I shall have to return
to Paris, dropping the studies from nature which I just began.
1 During the Brussels exhibition of the "Vingt," the Belgian poet published a long
article in La Vie Moderne (February 26, 1887) on the neo-impressionists, particularly
stressing the work of Seurat and Pissarro. La Vie Moderne published between January
and April of 1887, a number of drawings by Lucien Pissarro, Signac, Cross, Dubois-
Pillet, Seurat, Van Rysselberghe, etc.
101
PARIS, MARCH 15, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I sent my three paintings to Petit, tomorrow I will go to dis-
cover their fate. I brought Heymann my four watercolors, he is
expecting to hear any moment about my large gouache Le Marche
des Fosses [1346] ; if it has been sold I will leave. It will bring, I
hope, three hundred francs. — I saw Paulin who told me that one
of his friends wants something of mine for about three hundred
francs, he spoke of this to Portier, but I shall be there myself, it
would be devilish bad luck if I did not conclude a deal which would
enable me to take advantage of the good weather and sunlight.
Paulin has gone to Brussels to the "Vingt," everybody has been
there, he told me that the Lebourgs were all black, and that my
things showed up very well, and were clear and colorful. It seems
that Durand-Ruel was there, too. I think that there is a veering
to the new technique, if they dislike the large Seurat 1 at least
they admire the small canvases.
At this moment I am planning my exhibition,2 I think I will
show only new paintings and one frame enclosing four or five
panels. I will ask permission to show in the corridor downstairs
the two fans I sold to Paulin, the one Portier has, the last three
I did, and some gouaches that are already sold.
I believe that my last landscape will be quite good, I shall frame
it thus : a one and a quarter inch white margin around the paint-
ing, a flat oak surface of three and one half inches and a gilt laurel
border of one and one quarter inches : this will look proper, I
think, and I may do the same for the other canvases; I have to
show my works to best advantage, for you know how the other
artists present theirs. So framed, my painting will lose nothing,
I hope, and the frame, while severe, will not be too ill-matched with
the others nearby.
I will be very lucky if I can just hold my own; I have no illu-
sions, I do not expect them to be carried away with enthusiasm,
but if I am not blotted out by the others, it will mean victory and
much sooner than some believe. Already the most assured convic-
tions seem more hesitant, smiles have given way to discussions, and
1 A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, sent by Seurat, created a
scandal in Brussels.
8 Pissarro was intending to participate in the International Show which was to open
at Georges Petit' s on May 7, 1887.
102
I sometimes even sense approbation. They are waiting — well!
that's something in itself. — What a pity I haven't a large canvas
finished !
PARIS, MARCH 17, 1887
My dear Lucien,
M. Petit told me that the three canvases are salable, that he
has not yet been able to attend to this but that he will do his best.
He told me that the international committee met, and after some
deliberation, decided not to permit white frames. I mentioned that
having foreseen such difficulties I had resolved to have oak frames
with white margins on the paintings, and that in this way I pro-
posed to reconcile the harmony of the other frames with mine
without disturbing the harmony of my pictures. He found this
satisfactory, but I asked myself if they would not find something
else to object to, damn it! If so, I will at once withdraw. As a mat-
ter of fact, I don't regret not having white frames, which would
not be rich enough in these surroundings.
Yesterday I met Duret, he said to me, "Ah! you are going to
exhibit, but you know you should regard this as a purely commer-
cial affair. It is a most stupid milieu! stupid! Compromise I say,
don't hesitate." I answered, "Well, well." After a while your
name came up, I mentioned what Dumas has decided to do, and
what everybody is saying at the publishers, — and then my Duret
became an anarchist again. "But that is absurd, nothing can be
done any more, look, even Zola lowers himself to collaborate with
Busnach, to earn a few cents; my dear friend, I withdraw, I write
for nobody any longer, I never shall again, the newspapers have
a horrible fear of whatever is not banal or stupid. I am content,"
he said, "to work quietly, far from Paris, at Cognac." "Then
goodbye, my dear Duret, and be of good courage," I said and
hurried to Petit's.
I forgot to mention : Portier said to me : "It is decided, no more
exhibitions [with] Degas will be held?"
"Why?"
"Because you exhibit at Petit's."
"But, Portier, do you think Degas would be willing to show
with Seurat, Signac, Dubois-Pillet?"
"Oh no! you can't expect that."
103
"Well then/' I replied, "why the devil should I care about
Degas?" x
PARIS, MARCH 18, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I am always hoping that things will go a little better than they
have in the past, but how long one must wait; luckily the cold and
the snow make me regret less my stay in Paris. And now I must
resign myself to not showing my Apple Eaters [695], the frame
for a canvas that size would cost too much, and it is not certain
that the committee will accept a frame with a white border . . .
PARIS, APRIL 14, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I finally had the luck to run into Mirbeau at the exhibition
[of the Independants] . We had a long talk, and he remarked that
you ought to go to see him, that he had been intending to write
to you but did not wish to do so until after he had seen [the pub-
lisher] Ollendorf, which he has now done. He recommended you
warmly, he cannot have his book illustrated, for that matter he
does not agree that books ought to be illustrated; it is just as well,
he thinks, if not far better, to publish drawings without any text.2
Nevertheless he recommended you. It seems that Ollendorf is very
kind, though rather weak. Mirbeau told me a lot of gossip; it
seems that the coming of the impressionists created great confu-
sion at Petit's.
Apparently Renoir has destroyed all the work he did last sum-
mer . . . He is exhibiting only a very few things, but they are
extremely interesting; Whistler, too, is showing with us as well
as Puvis de Chavannes.
Heymann has just this moment brought me two hundred and
fifty francs from Portier; I shall send the money on to you. It is
for a canvas I left at Paulin's; Portier is about to sell the other one.
1 Degas did not participate in Petit's International Exhibition. Of the impressionist
painters, only Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Morisot and Pissarro were represented.
2 Mirbeau did not stick to this principle and later published with Bonnard
La 628 E8.
104
PARIS, APRIL 50, 1887
My dear Lucien,
My little panel is quite perfect in its frame, it has great unity,
it is bathed in a very harmonious and delicate pearl-grey tone;
the execution is absolutely superior to large strokes, and I believe
the work cannot fail to please whoever looks at it without
prejudice.
PARIS, MAY 2, 1887
My dear Lucien,
Le Figaro has just published two letters of the great Millet;
these letters show the painter in a very peculiar light and clearly
indicate the petty side of this talented man.1 It is very discourag-
ing. I have not yet read the letters, but Signac told me the sub-
stance of them. The great Millet indignantly protests against the
Commune [and the communards] , whom he characterizes as bar-
barians and vandals; he concludes with a dig at good Courbet, who,
as I see it, can only be aggrandized by this attempt at belittlement.
Because of his painting The Man with the Hoe, the socialists
thought Millet was on their side, assuming that this artist who had
undergone so much suffering, this peasant of genius who had ex-
pressed the sadness of peasant life, would necessarily have to be
in agreement with their ideas. Not at all. More and more indig-
nant disavowals from the great painter! What do you think of
that? I was not much surprised. He was just a bit too biblical.
Another one of those blind men, leaders or followers, who uncon-
scious of the march of modern ideas defend the idea without know-
ing it, despite themselves! . . . Isn't this a strange phenomenon?
For a long time now I have been struck by the unconsciousness of
the intellectuals.
Gustave Kahn's book is to appear soon.2 Signac told me that
Kahn expects it to be a great success and will be very discouraged
1 Millet had refused to join the Federation des Artistes Fran^ais which had been
formed during the Paris Commune under the leadership of Courbet. In a letter dated
May, 1871, Millet expressed his view of the communards : "Isn't it frightful what these
wretches have done to Paris? Such unprecedented monstrosities make those of the
vandals look conservative.'"
1 The reference is to a volume of poetry, Les Palais nomades.
105
if his work is not received with enthusiasm. I don't understand
how a man as well balanced as Kahn can for one moment count
on success j which is so rare and surprising when it comes. . . .
No, he can be sure that if his book is really superior, if it em-
bodies some new idea, it will be greeted with silence. . . .
PARIS, MAY 8, 1887
My dear Lucien,
I went to Asnieres with Signac, still exhausted from the hanging
... I had all I could stand from that confounded exhibition which
smells to heaven of bourgeois values. But just the same I wanted
the experience of seeing my pictures hanging with those of the
leaders and followers of triumphant impressionism.
Evidently, for the test to be decisive, I would have needed at
least fifteen canvases to be in harmony with the other exhibitors,
and also my works should not have been scattered about as they
were. The Monets, Renoirs, Sisleys, Cazins, Raffaellis, Whistlers
were shown in groups. Just the same it is clear, it is very evident
that we have more luminosity and more design 5 still a bit too
much stiffness; badly framed and the tapestries are in contradic-
tion with our harmonies. I am not too dissatisfied; what enraged
me, though, was the offhand way I was treated. M. Petit, to please
a foreign painter who was blinded by my luminosity, withdrew
my Plain of Eragny, withdrew it altogether and hung in its place
a dark Monet. I was so angered that I was simply incapable of
being polite to my guests. I was furious and complained bitterly,
if it had not been for John Lewis Brown I should have made a
furore. I reflected that after all it was better to calm down and
take it up later. But you cannot conceive to what degree this milieu
enslaves one, and how easy it is for the powerful to restrict the
liberty of others. Even my poor little panel was put aside, I pro-
tested once again this morning and was promised that space for
my work would be found. De Bellio seems to like my pictures,
he called me a magician. ... I am afraid this is just flattery. As
for M. Chocquet,1 it would be an exaggeration to say that he was
1 Victor Chocquet, who had collected works by Delacroix, became interested in
Renoir, and then a really passionate worshipper of Cdzanne. He acquired a large
number of Cezanne's paintings and was the latter1 s faithful friend.
106
flattering, he cannot abide my work, I sense his dislike, but it
means nothing to me.
Finally I am completely exhausted, for we spent from nine
o'clock last night until seven in the morning hanging paintings.
I am off to the exhibition, I will write you later about certain
ideas expressed by Monet which are most extraordinary coming
from such an artist. . . . They can only be explained by the fact
that he is in opposition. . . .
. PARIS [MAY 14, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I have been wanting to write you for three days, but I lacked
the three cents for postage.
I was finally permitted to replace the painting of the Plain, as
to the little panel, I could not obtain the space for it. Every day
they make promises, every day I press them: they seem to be
trifling with me.
I am very glad that I decided in favor of exhibiting; it was an
experience I needed. Who knows, I may never again be able
to show with the old group of impressionists, and I have every
reason to be satisfied. You will see for yourself how wide is the
divergence. It is an altogether different art, it is of course not
understood, but it is seen, for it is so different, so clearly distinct;
at a great distance this is recognized, and you would be amazed
at the luminosity and simplicity of my works.
Your mother came to the exhibition. I am very sorry that I
did not know she was coming, for then I would not have been
dining with Signac and I should have been so pleased to show her
around. But perhaps she wouldn't have liked that? She must have
heard a lot of nonsense about the paintings. — Tell me whether
she did not find Monet's things a little too dark? I do not know
whether I am correct in this, but these works seem to me to lack
luminosity, by which I mean the light that bathes bodies in the
shade as well as those in the sun. The effect is certainly decorative,
but there is little finesse and crudities are prominent; I do not
know if it belongs to our vision which aspires to harmony and
demands an art which while not decoration is yet decorative.
As for Renoir, again the same hiatus. I do understand what he
is trying to do, it is proper not to want to stand still, but he chose
107
to concentrate on the line, his figures are all separate entities, de-
tached from one another without regard for color; the result is
something unintelligible. Renoir, without the gift for drawing,
and without his former instinctive feeling for beautiful colors,
becomes incoherent. As for Sisley, he has not changed, he is adroit,
delicate enough, but absolutely false. . . . Whistler has some very
fine bits of sketches in paint, forty-two!! He was honored with
the best places, he also has a large portrait of a lady, the painting
is completely black. Nor is there any luminosity either. Whistler,
by the way, does not care for luminosity. His little sketches show
fine draftsmanship. In the corridor he has some very good, in
fact, quite superior etchings, they are even luminous, which is
strange for an artist who does not aim at this in his color.
Madame Berthe Morisot has some excellent things. The sculptor
Rodin is a great artist. Degas finds him a little mannered; I think
so too, or rather I should like to see a bit more synthesis instead
of simplification. As to the foreign painters, they are inconceivably
bad! Montenard had several paintings hung but withdrew them
all, finding them out of place with the others. Besnard has no
cause for satisfaction. His paintings [by comparison] are
white! . . .
At Petit's they are waiting impatiently for Wolff's article. You
cannot imagine how much the painters and dealers tremble before
this gentleman. When Wolff came in everyone rushed over to
hear the pronouncements of the oracle, those who enjoyed his
favor or who had the honor to be acquainted with him pressed
around him; a word he dropped was repeated like an echo in
the mountains. How the poor artists have fallen! It is horrible. —
At one time I felt a sudden push; John Lewis Brown, always en-
thusiastic, was shouting at me, "Pissarro, my friend, Wolff likes
your paintings very much!" "Really, my dear fellow, that is just
claptrap, I don't believe it, if true it would be very peculiar in-
deed!" What do you think of that? But have no fear, I know to
my cost what this milieu is worth. Let us not excite ourselves, he
who laughs last laughs best!
I went to the dinner of the Independants yesterday. It went off
very well! Hochede made a little speech and drank to the honor
of the old impressionism. He seemed to be criticizing Monet,
Sisley and Renoir; there is something besides art in his criticism,
I fear, for he is generally eclectic. . . .
108
PARIS [MAY 15, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I shall do my best to leave by the beginning of the week. 1
would have liked to see you here in Paris, to get your reaction
to the Millet show, to ours, and to mine especially. I wanted to
send you a little money, I made every effort to, I have only been
able to borrow forty francs from Heymann; I must carefully hus-
band part of this money so as to be able to return to Paris if need
be. Heymann's collectors lost heavily during the recent crises,
some time will have to elapse before they regain confidence. You
must remember that Heymann recruits his collectors from the
small capitalists. — This is very distressing since I can count only
on people of that sort.
Petit has undertaken to push Monet and Sisley, hence it hardly
matters to him whether or not I get anywhere; he has his faithful
collectors who recruit buyers here and there. I observed these
gentlemen several times propagandizing exclusively for Monet and
Sisley. The placement of paintings was done in advance, the
grouping was calculated, I know that; talking with Sisley I got
what practically amounts to an admission. So you see my can-
vases were scattered to give them less importance. I let them get
away with it this year, I didn't want to say anything; besides I
was afraid that my canvases would not show well with the others.
This was unnecessary modesty on my part, grouped around my
Apple Eaters [695] , my show would have been much superior.
Yesterday I saw Bracquemond. He likes my large painting
[695] less than my new things, he finds these last very excellently
drawn and more pure and delicate in color; he did not even notice
from where we were sitting, that they are pointillist works. I
called this to his attention, he replied that this could not affect
his judgment, that he would not take sides for or against. — On
the other hand he finds the Sisleys first rate and the Monets beau-
tiful. However he was rather critical of Renoir, though he thought
some parts of the large painting very well drawn — I am of his
opinion as to the parts. — It is the ensemble, the synthesis which
is faulty, and this they refuse to understand! — He also noted the
crude execution in some of the Monets, particularly in one of the
Holland canvases, in which the impasto is so thick that an unnat-
ural light is added to the canvas, you can hardly conceive how
objectionable it is to me, — even worse is the swept and meager
109
sky — no, I cannot accept this approach to art. — But the walls in
the picture seem to me very well treated. As for Sisley, I just can't
enjoy his work, it is commonplace, forced, disordered} Sisley has
a good eye, and his work will certainly charm all those whose
artistic sense is not very refined. — Madame Morisot is doing good
work, she has neither advanced nor fallen back, she is a fine artist.
Whistler is very artistic j he is a showman, but nevertheless an
artist.
These are my impressions. As for myself I have some doubts
about my work — that is inevitable, but I feel that I have cer-
tainly made progress. I want to know how I can put this progress
to account in figure compositions done in the studio. This is what
I shall attempt next year. I need to do two large canvases and
several landscapes. Will I have the peace of mind to carry out this
venture successfully? I will do my best. Seurat, Signac, Fen£on,
all our young friends, like only my works and Madame Morisot's
a little} naturally they are motivated by our common struggle. But
Seurat, who is colder, more logical and more moderate, does not
hesitate for a moment to declare that we have the right position,
and that the impressionists are even more retarded than before.
PARIS [MAY 16, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I went to the Millet exhibition yesterday with Amelia. . . .
A dense crowd. — There I ran into Hyacinthe Pozier,1 he greeted
me with the announcement that he had just received a great shock,
he was all in tears, we thought someone in his family had died. —
Not at all, it was The Angelus, Millet's painting which had pro-
voked his emotion. This canvas, one of the painter's poorest, a
canvas for which in these times 500,000 francs were refused, has
just this moral effect on the vulgarians who crowd around it : they
trample one another before it! This is literally true — and makes
one take a sad view of humanity; idiotic sentimentality which re-
calls the effect Greuze had in the eighteenth century: The Bible
Reading, The Broken Jar. These people see only the trivial side in
art. They do not realize that certain of Millet's drawings are a
hundred times better than his paintings which are now dated.
1 A painter who lived in Eragny.
110
They were not so dazzled when they looked at the admirable
Delacroix decorations in St. Sulpice! What animals! it is heart-
breaking!
A great change is taking place in art at this moment ; it gives
me pleasure to note the symptoms of this change. I have met a
number of painters and critics who seem to understand that the
old impressionists have fallen behind. Then, for example, I saw
Astruc yesterday, he fulminated against the backsliding of Renoir
and Monet, and Sisley's lack of progress. I am not disappointed
with the results of my exhibition. It even seemed to me that Astruc
understood our experiments, without perhaps being able to illumi-
nate them further. He grants that Millet's work has become dated,
he agrees with me that Millet's whole value is in his drawings,
which however are infected with a sentimentality that one day
will embarrass all true artists! 1 An article in L'Estafette appeared
which it seems is very favorable to me and very unfavorable to
Monet, Renoir, etc.; my brother mentioned this to me but could
not find the issue.2 The article is by M. Desclozeau, a young critic,
he will have read Feneon, I have heard that they are acquainted —
Feneon scored a bull's-eye. Hyacinthe [Pozier], the sensitive
landscapist, told me about a very flattering article in some art
review. I don't know which, but I will find out. I don't attach
much importance to all these writings which are generally in-
spired by the interested parties, but they can serve as a ther-
mometer, indicating one's value and influence at the moment.
It is absolutely necessary to work with a view to a good exhibi-
tion next year : I need as many figure paintings as possible.
PARIS [MAY 20, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I saw M. Schuffenecker at the exhibition. Naturally the
Gauguin-Guillaumin incidents came up.3 Very malicious, M.
1 The same ideas were expressed by J. K. Huysmans in his article on the Millet
show which appeared in La Revue Independante in July 1887.
2 In a review of the International Exhibition Jules Desclozeau wrote on May If:
"M. Camille Pissarro has painted a field bathed in sunlight, whose forms, colors and
reflections are admirably synthesized. It is more field than any field we have ever
seen. We cannot understand what interest the brutal paintings of M. Claude Monet
and the simplicist works of M. Renoir can have. Both these artists have taken the
wrong path."
* See with regard to these happenings Pissarro's letter of December 3, 1886.
Ill
Schuffenecker, and very malicious, M. Gauguin, who according
to M. Schuffenecker was ill advised in giving free rein to his
wounded vanity!! Believe me, I told him frankly what I thought
of the conduct of the two friends, Gauguin-Guillaumin, on that
occasion. But what was most wonderful, the real climax, was to
hear M. Schuffenecker speak in the most glowing terms of the new
technique, praising Seurat not only for his scientific approach, but
even for his talent!
"Well, then," I told him, "you are no longer in agreement
with Gauguin-Guillaumin."
"I beg your pardon; you will see for yourself what enormous
progress Gauguin has made. I have just come from the country,
Gauguin is absolutely taking this direction, he is a proud painter
and he has an iron will. He will be talked about."
"We shall see, M. Schuffenecker. In any case," I said, "Gau-
guin was wrong to rail against Seurat, Signac, — and, consequently
against me. There is now little possibility of our coming to an
agreement. Besides, we have taken our stand, we shall exhibit
alone, struggle alone, for I do not believe those gentlemen will
adhere very firmly to the position of scientific impressionism. — We
shall see."
Vehement protests from Schuffenecker.
You see, my dear Lucien, all these people who twist and turn,
begin to realize that they have blundered, and they will try any-
thing again and again — particularly Gauguin — to steal our place.
— This was to be expected. — We are going to see strange things;
for we who understand what difficulties must be surmounted and
what delicacy of vision one must have can be prepared for some
wonderful things from these people! Didn't Schuffenecker, too,
throw himself into the fray? How right Feneon was to lay down
categories. Besides I explained this to Schuffenecker and in quite
harsh terms, I even told him that in the future we would certainly
break our way for ourselves and not let ourselves be pillaged by
the "Fagerolles." Isn't that the final comic touch? Schuffenecker
begged me to visit him. I really want to go, if only to see for my-
self what is being done. ... I can't get over it.
I met Anquetin; he also wants to follow us. This is getting to
be a real steeplechase^
112
*"».W !»n
'■**■
16. — C. Pissarro: Le Theatre des Arts a Rouen, 1883.
17. — C. Pissarro: The Village of Eragny on the Epte near Gisors, 1884.
ERAGNY [MAY 27, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I have only a vague recollection of the gouache of mine which
you tell me is to be sold at auction. Let's hope it is not sold for
some miserable sum — that would be the last straw! I have no one
to bid and push up the price.
Has Wolff done an article? . . . Certainly not.1 With the reap-
pearance of the new impressionists he has suppressed his review,
he doesn't dare breathe a word either in praise or blame. Petit
has nothing to rejoice about, this reflects on the show. This Wolff
is too old for our time, what we need is a Felix Feneon, but of
course the tricksters won't like him!
ERAGNY [MAY 28, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I'm damn lucky that that gouache brought 300 francs. Where
the devil is she now, Dame Misfortune? Can it be that she's for-
gotten me?
ERAGNY [MAY 31, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
The fact that I can't sell my own works does not at all prove
that I would have been a successful businessman; damn it all, I
know how I would have made out: I would have gone bankrupt
two or three times; in this I would even have been blameless;
bankruptcy would have resulted, perhaps, from too great trust
in my dear competitors, and hence be come by honestly. Into the
bargain, I would not even have had the satisfaction of living by
my ideas; what regrets! Besides, it was not possible. I would much
rather be a worker than a businessman who is actually nothing
but a middleman or intermediary, and should properly conduct
his business for the worker's profit. It is simply for being my
agent that he takes the lion's share of the returns for my work! —
No, it is too idiotic.
1 In fact no article by Albert Wol§ on the Petit exhibition appeared in Le Figaro.
113
I began a canvas about 21 x 18 inches} I began it in grey
weather, impossible to go on with it in the sun. I am going to
have plenty of trouble and if Heymann doesn't sell anything what
shall I do then? I have done four gouaches and I am about to
work on my 36 x 28 canvas. I am working hard. If I didn't have
so many worries the picture would paint itself.
P.S. If you happen to see Seurat or if you write to Signac, tell
them that I have tried the mixture of cadmium (well recom-
mended by Contet) , with red, white and Veronese green. It be-
comes black in four or five days from the Veronese green. Even
blacker than the chrome yellow mixture. Tell this to Contet.
ERAGNY [JUNE 1, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I finished four gouaches of which two are pretty good, Market
of Pontoise [1413] and Cow-girl of Eragny [1426-27]. The two
others are so-so. I have my Gathering Sweet Peas [1408] which
I shall finish, it is about twenty-five by twenty-one inches ; perhaps
Portier will prefer it to the others, in any case I will send him the
four small gouaches pretty soon.
Heymann is sleeping; he has no collectors any more. It is beyond
me how Sisley and Renoir get along. Monet of course has people
interested in him.
Try to find out whether Feneon wrote a piece on the Petit ex-
hibition. I hope the show doesn't get much attention. The In-
dependents got many more reviews — it is true this isn't much help.
Impossible to work outdoors; continued thunder storms. I am
working hard at gouaches. I am beginning my large canvas, and
continuing my landscape with the hare.
ERAGNY [JUNE 4, 1887]
My dear Lucient
I am really pleased to find that Huysmans is more or less sym-
pathetic to me; he understood what we were getting at, you will
114
see, in a few years he will adore the dot! * There are now three
artists, Huysmans, Mirbeau and Bracquemond, who accept us.
ERAGNY [JUNE 5, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I see that even my last gouaches are not going to be understood,
it's enough to make one quit. . . . Portier takes to my most
mediocre work, precisely this Market of Gisors has been a great
bother to me. The work being a failure, I went over it with a
few pen strokes, I thought of not sending it. The only good thing
I have is the Market of Pontoise [1415]. I have almost finished
another gouache: Two Peasants Near a Well [1410] j this was
done in bright sun, I believe it is as good as the Market of Pon-
toise. If you go to Th£o van Gogh's, see if he was the blond young
man who bought my gouache [at the auction] .2
What a joke! It's a wonderful business being a bourgeois — with-
out a cent. But one can hardly conceive of a bourgeois without
unearned increment. All those who work with their hands or
brains, who create, become proletarians when they depend on
middlemen — proletarians with or without overalls.
ERAGNY [JULY, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
My painting The Cleft [7 1 5] is hardly advancing even though
I work on it every day. It is really taking much too long. I'm going
to make more gouaches than ever for I see no way of selling figure
paintings. Perhaps, I will be compelled to return to my old style?
That would be very embarrassing! We shall see. Anyway, I will
have learned to be more precise.
Nothing particular to tell you except that I am still waiting
1 Huysmans in his "Art Chronicle" in La Revue Independante had just written of
Pissarro's works shown at the Petit exhibition: "Besides his Apple-Pickers, which calls
to mind his ample and delicious canvases of former years, M. Pissarro this time brings
to the booty of the hall only a few pointillist landscapes less resolute in emphasis and
less clear, in my view."
2 Thio van Gogh, the brother of the painter, was director of the Boussod & Valadon
Gallery on the Boulevard Montmartre. Prompted by him, this gallery, which had
replaced that of Goupil, became interested in the impressionists and their friends.
115
for a letter from Theo van Gogh. Nothing yet from that quarter.
And now my only hope is in Durand-Ruel; that gone there is
nothing left. Things are becoming very serious. I have done sev-
eral watercolors, one of which is about 25 x 21, Shepherdess
[1417] which has a certain style. One sitting with a model and
I could finish it; I am going to Paris to sound out Durand. Maybe
he can place it in New York.
ERAGNY [JULY 6, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
You ask me if I am working; in the morning I have a session
in the sun, the rest of the day I work on gouaches and on figure
paintings, I make sketches and studies in grey weather for my
Reapers [713], — it is beginning to make progress. ... I am pre-
paring some gouaches to be ready in case Durand, by some lucky
chance, can sell them, as I see that I must count no more on Theo
van Gogh than on the others; I don't know what to do. ... I have
just five francs for train fare; as soon as I have a supply of
gouaches I shall leave, I can't afford to miss any chance that comes
along.
Dubourg [the framer] sent me his bill, it runs up to 995 francs!
. . . His account is pretty steep, he charges me very high prices. —
That's all I earn, bills! . . . The Petit exhibition costs me plenty! ! —
and I don't know if I shall show next year; besides, with all these
worries, these comings and goings, I am not producing, I can pro-
ceed with my gouaches but I have no model for the figure paint-
ings, you see what I am limited to.
Your mother worries a great deal and that doesn't help matters.
ERAGNY [JULY 10, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I shall go to Paris, I can't remain here any longer without news.
— I shall bring a large gouache, which I consider quite successful
and very salable, also several small watercolors. I would be happy
if chance would help me discover a generous collector like Nela-
116
ton's grandson,1 such a man is rare, he is an artist with taste. The
collector today regards a painting only as a share of stock, it is
disgusting to be a part of such a degenerate business. . . .
The weather has changed, we are having rain. I am working
on my Harvest [713], it is taking a very long time and I am not
getting the effects I want, I return to the gouache and I do a lot!
. . . We are celebrating the holiday [July 14th] in Eragny. Wind,
rain and not a penny . . . very sad this year.
ERAGNY [AUGUST 25, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
As was agreed upon, I was to go to Paris to bring my group
of paintings in order to look for collectors or for a loan, at any
rate for whatever financial arrangement could get us out of our
predicament. But everything has changed, your mother assured
me that she would do better, and as I have hardly been very happy
in my various ventures up till now, I let myself be persuaded. In
any case, while your mother is taking these steps, I shall find
time to do two gouaches, to finish the two paintings I am now
working on, and to begin my fall campaign, so as to have some
extra canvases in case business picks up when the collectors return.
I can't give you any further details about the means your
mother expects to use to succeed better than I; she doesn't know
herself, I suppose. I have a vague idea that she is counting on
Murer [in Auvers], but I'm afraid she's deluding herself. For
my part, I confess that I would expect nothing from this quarter.
Well, she left yesterday with Cocotte for Pontoise to go from
there to the Murers! Next she intends, I think, to go to Paris.
If she accomplishes nothing at Auvers, whom will she see in Paris ?
Well, I couldn't discuss the matter with your mother and dissuade
her, it would only have resulted in quarrels which simply irritate
us and keep us from solving the problem. This is the state we are
in : darkness, doubt, quarrels, and with all that one must produce
works that will stand up to those of one's contemporaries. One
must create art, without which all is lost. So, my dear Lucien, I
stiffen myself against the storm and try not to founder. Your
1 Doubtless it was M. Ne'laton who was responsible for Pissarro's gouache getting
iOO francs at the auction.
117
mother accuses me of egoism, indifference, nonchalance. I make
heroic efforts to preserve my calm so as not to lose the fruit of
so much thought and labor.
I just finished a gouache of 25 x 21 inches, Harvesters at Rest
in the shade of great poplars [1411]. I am quite satisfied with it
although I have not been able to get the effects I would have liked
with this stubborn medium. I have also nearly finished The Cleft
in the Road [7 1 5] and my Sunset [712] in our field. I am fairly
well satisfied with them. I still have to develop my new technique *
while respecting as much as possible the laws of color. I have begun
a Washwoman in gouache, about 21 x 18 inches, and I am about
to begin my fall campaign. If your mother can handle the paint-
ings successfully, we'll solve our difficulties — but there's the rub!
ERAGNY [AUGUST 28, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I got your letter of the 25 th on the 26th. The next day your
mother returned from Paris. She has already told you [in Paris]
the outcome of her venture. As you must have remarked, it was
quite barren.
Murer, it seems, takes the view that I am lost. He even told
your mother that when my name comes up in a conversation
people smile! . . . He is willing to give me any kind of help ex-
cept money. He is in financial straits himself, he receives nothing
but promissory notes which cannot easily be converted into cash.
He suggested that I hold a kind of fake auction, and if I so desire,
he will introduce me to Tual, the auctioneer. De Bellio is also of
the opinion that I am either lost already or falling behind, and
that I am making a great mistake in trying to develop my art. —
Wo. too, would like to help me, if possible. — So these are the re-
sults of her venture; exactly what I anticipated, which is why
I would not turn to these people. As for Murer's proposition, I
thought of it long ago and even spoke of it to Theo van Gogh
who considered it too risky. The fact is an auction, if it failed,
would be a complete disaster, unless Murer were prepared to bid,
1 Because it slowed up his production and for other reasons which are explained
later in his letters, Camille Pissarro at that time began to soften the rigid execution!
of pointillist divisionism, without however wishing to abandon divisionism itself. For
Seurat and Signac divisionism was not necessarily bound up with the little dot.
118
and if necessary, to buy three or four thousand francs' worth of
paintings, which I am certain he is not — nor is de Bellio, either.
So the whole thing would be dangerous. As for introducing me to
Tual, so as to interest him in my affairs, that is another mirage. . . .
I know Tual, Boussaton's successor, who knew me very well. —
Tual has often expressed a desire to help me; but, of course, in a
safe way. If he had confidence in my work and were ready to put
up the money himself, that would suit me perfectly, but no dan-
ger! Millet himself would not have found an auctioneer willing
to invest money in his paintings. Only Murer, the man of facts,
could entertain such romantic ideas. No, it is obvious that Tual,
who stands to lose nothing, and may even gain, would like noth-
ing better than to hold an auction of some so-called private col-
lection of my work. Then, the auction failing — which is inevitable
— I would lose the paintings and I would have incurred new ex-
penses. Who will believe that any owner of Pissarros would sell
his collection at such an unfavorable time? The only thing which
could bring a collector to take such a risk would be the desire to
be rid at any cost of bad paintings, in order to buy "real" impres-
sionists' works. . . . And then the four or five collectors in Paris
can't be taken in, everyone will realize that it is not a legitimate
sale. Besides, an auction, particularly under such circumstances,
would have to be prepared well in advance. I would do better to
sell the whole lot at a low price to some speculator.
The more I think of it, the more dangerous it appears, much
more dangerous in fact than to have tried to progress so as not
to paint grey, lustreless pictures. — Nevertheless I will go to see
Murer, I will see what he says man to man. But I think Th£o van
Gogh, who is very subtle, will be able to give me good advice. . . .
But what I need is money, and now.
I have to get out of this mess without resorting to a public
auction, that was my idea when your mother left, that is what
I must do. Besides, an auction could not be held until November,
and we cannot wait till then.
I finished a gouache about 21 by 18 inches. I will leave for
Paris.
119
ERAGNY [SEPTEMBER 20, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
I have decided that it would be better to see Alexis 1 than to
write to him. I composed two or three letters, all were inadequate,
and so I decided to go and see him. I was right to do so. At first
I couldn't find Alexis. He was in Paris. Then I learned at Le Cri
du Peuple that he had fought a duel with M. Bernhardt and been
wounded in the right arm. — The wound is not very serious. — I
presented myself to Madame Alexis who, a very subtle woman,
grasped the situation thoroughly and understood my position.
Alexis will be glad to give a more positive tone to his article, and
is ready to serve me if need be. Then I went to the Murers; I had
lunch, and then we had a talk. As if by plan, though we did not
meet, Renoir and his family came by the same train to the Murers.
A tremendous discussion of the dot! At one point Murer said to
me: "But you know perfectly well that the dot is impossible!"
Renoir added : "You have abandoned the dot, but you won't admit
you were wrong!"
Nettled, I replied to Murer that he no doubt took me for a
cheat, and to Renoir I said, "My dear fellow, I am not that senile.
Besides, you Murer know nothing about it 5 and as for you Renoir,
you follow your caprice, but I know where I am going!" Then
there was much abuse of our young friends : Seurat discovered
nothing; he takes himself for a genius, etc. You may be sure that
I did not let these remarks pass unchallenged. — I had imagined
that they knew something — if ever so little — of our movement,
but no, they knew nothing about it.
ERAGNY [SEPTEMBER 24, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
Things are picking up. ... I received a letter along with eight
hundred francs from Theo van Gogh; he sold de Bellio my large
painting, the one in grey light [711]. Five hundred francs for
a canvas this size is very little. De Bellio finally picked this one.
Although it was not a brilliant transaction, I am quite pleased,
perhaps later on prices will be better. The other picture which was
1 Paul Alexis was preparing an article on the Murer collection.
120
sold is a gouache — Gathering Sweet Peas [1408]. Van Gogh
wrote me that he had to accept as part payment a painting which
it will be difficult to place. The collectors are really extraordinary,
they just won't pay cash. All the same it was very kind of van
Gogh to make the deal and get me out of hot water. And your
mother is a little calmer, so I will be able to work on some can-
vases. I have six or seven canvases going, while some are drying
I work on the others, thus I lose less time.
ERAGNY [OCTOBER 13, 1887]
My dear Lucien,
This morning your mother received a letter from Mile. Murer
announcing that Trublot's x piece will appear any day now and
that Renoir has been living [at Auvers] in the same hotel as
Trublot ever since I last saw him. For all I know Trublot may get
everything wrong in his article! As I foresaw, Murer is going to
cry up the importance of the period in painting represented in
his collection ! Another romantic ! 2
I work a great deal, but how long it takes! I don't know whether
I will be able to bring my two autumn canvases; it has been rain-
ing for more than a week, the days are cold and grey. What a
nuisance!
1 The pseudonym of Paul Alexis.
' The article, which appeared in Le Cri du Peuple on October 21, did not favor
certain of the painters while deprecating the others, which was what Pissarro feared.
The article discussed the Murer collection as a whole and listed the various works rep-
resented in it, often under completely fantastic titles. It seems that at that time
Murer' 's collection included eight Cezannes, twenty-five Pissarros, sixteen Renoirs, ten
Monets, twenty-eight Sisleys, twenty-two Guillaumins, etc.
121
1888
ERAGNY [JANUARY 30, 1888]
My dear Lucien,
At the end of the week I shall have to go to Paris j we are with-
out a penny. I have to hasten my departure, though I would like
to do a little more work on my canvases.
I may actually not have enough to make the trip, I expected
something for the fan, through Nunes, but nothing, no reply.
When I am away from Paris nothing I count on happens. If you
can scrape together a few francs for me, send us the money, I will
repay you when I collect some money in Paris. I don't see how
I can get away, I had put some money aside for the trip, but your
mother needed it.
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 2, 1888
My dear Lucien,
I have still not received anything from you. I suppose you were
unable to get the money I begged you to send me for train fare.
— I hoped to leave on Saturday, but I was penniless. Nunes, as
usual, didn't answer my letter, so I suppose the fan wasn't sold
after all. But at any cost I must get to Paris. Next week I will send
my three paintings by messenger to Theo van Gogh; I hope he
likes them and that something will materialize. I see that after
so many hardships, I shall as ever have to give my things away!
what bad luck! Van Gogh writes that he is expecting the pictures
and that he hopes to make a deal. But he doesn't sell anything, he
122
complains that the collectors show no interest in even the most
beautiful works. It is heartbreaking! All the same one must not
despair, on the contrary, one must outface misfortune and do the
impossible.
ERAGNY [MARCH, 1888]
My dear Lucien,
I was very happy to receive your letter announcing that Theo
van Gogh had finally sold my landscape. But you did not mention
the price. . . .
I have finished my two gouaches and am ready to leave.
I am troubled by the fact that my gouache was bought [at auc-
tion] for almost nothing by Meyer. If only this doesn't prove an
obstacle to selling my new ones! Why the devil didn't somebody,
Durand's son, or Theo van Gogh, or some collector, bid more
than that? This is completely discouraging.
ERAGNY [MARCH 15, 1888]
My dear Lucien,
I got the money from Theo van Gogh, it was three hundred
francs. The picture sold was Peasant Houses [710] which be-
longed to the Boussod & Valadon Gallery, and van Gogh has taken
another canvas of the same size, the one with the motif of the
field with a white wall [709], done in bright sun, to replace the
one he disposed of. At least this is what I understand [from his
letter] . My gouache was sold for sixty francs at the auction.
ERAGNY [APRIL 26, 1888]
My dear Lucien,
I hope to send Theo van Gogh three small paintings and a
gouache in about a week. Your mother wanted me to do a paint-
ing for her, but, as ever, not in my new manner. It would be
impossible for me to do one in my old manner. . . .
A letter has come from Portier with the news that the etchings
123
I gave him in payment for the one hundred francs I owed him,
have been sold to a museum in New York which specializes in
engravings. Portier wrote that to complete the sale I would have
to do a self-portrait in pen and ink and send it along with the
proofs to the said museum.1 I am supposed to get fifty francs for
the self-portrait. I made the portrait and dispatched it, but I have
heard nothing since.
Tell me about our friends, write me whatever you think I
ought to know. When I send my paintings to Theo van Gogh,
go and see them. Try to find out whether the sale of my works
has had a good or bad effect, for they always find reasons for
lowering prices, and only when compelled do they give you what
you are entitled to. I hope that with the help of van Gogh and
Durand we will be able to emerge from this situation. It seems
to me that I deserve no less, since I have worked conscientiously.
I do not believe that anyone could devote — if not more talent —
more care and good will to the service of his art; it takes me hours
of reflection to decide on the slightest detail $ is this impatience? . . .
I think not! For I do not wish to make a brush stroke when I do
not feel complete mastery of my subject, there's the rub — that is
the great difficulty; without sensation, nothing, absolutely noth-
ing valid ... I believe I have hit my stride. I have begun a series
of things which will really be in my style. What I have written
is of course not in accord with business policy, evidently it is
not a recipe for getting rich.
ERAGNY [APRIL 28, 1888]
My dear Lucien,
I would very much like to see the exhibition of caricatures, the
Daumiers, particularly. What a wealth of sensations he had! But
I am working on my picture of Gleaners, it is giving me plenty
of trouble. ... I lack data, that's always the great difficulty. I need
models, I no longer know where to find them. Only at Pontoise
could I find what I need, but I am not free to go there, and besides
I can't afford it. I have to rely constantly on figures I have already
1 There is no such museum in New York. However, the buyer of Pissarro's etchings
and of the self-portrait (see fig. JO), Mr. S. P. Avery, planned to leave his collec-
tion to the print department of the New York Public Library, where it is today.
124
made — I really need to renew my sensation of the figure
but what can I do?
ERAGNY [MAY 5, 1
My dear Lucieny
I saw in the Cri du Peuple that the exhibition [of the Independ-
ents^ ended gloriously. You ought to be able to move your things
without too much trouble. If you see Signac, remember me to
him and tell him to visit me at Eragny. He's been so friendly to
us that I really owe him an invitation, and it would be better if
he came while you are staying with us.
Try to find out from Theo van Gogh or Portier how things are
progressing in America and if anything has been heard about
Durand.1
ERAGNY [MAY 15, 1888]
My dear Lucien,
I think you would do best to come here, for if you wait indef-
initely for your money you will miss the good weather; come
now while we have some money and prepare for your exhibition
for next year and also do some illustrations. It is necessary not to
be discouraged, one must get oneself accepted on the strength of
incontestable, if not uncontested, gifts. Renouard made his name
on the strength of three or four illustrations of scenes backstage
and women painters in the Louvre, while these were far from
being comparable to the work of Degas they were quite good, they
lacked style but had energy, they were not the works of a nonen-
tity, and Renouard got somewhere. For my part I think when
one has talent one finally breaks through ; so don't pass up any
opportunity to do some work. . . .
I work mostly in the studio; as I mentioned several times, the
leaves are burgeoning and change so rapidly that I have been un-
able to prepare a single sketch. I am making little watercolors and
pastels, I think they will come out all right; in the studio I am pre-
1 Durand-Ruel whose affairs were gradually picking up was about to open a gallery
in New York.
125
paring five or six canvases, I work on one after another, I am get-
ting used to working that way.
ERAGNY, MAY 16, 1888
My dear Lucien,
We must find out from Durand when the exhibition opens.1
Let me know how many canvases I can show. If you can tell
me on what day the exhibition will open, I will know where I
stand. Perhaps I will be able to finish my pictures — and that's
what matters most. If I don't get news of the opening I will leave
on Saturday or Sunday morning — that is if my pictures are in
shape.
I lost so much time trying to sell my things in Paris that I have
nothing ready in case of need; and I must have five or six new
works. If I can obtain from Signac or Seurat or some other neo-
impressionist a frame of about 36 x 28 inches for my landscape
The Cleft in the Road [715], I will show the canvas, but never
in a horrible gilt frame.
PARIS, JULY 8, 1888
My dear Lucien,
My pictures have still not been sold. I saw Paindessous, he told
me that he was leaving, made me some wonderful promises and
expressed great friendship for me. He said something which is
perhaps true enough: "You know, of course, that there are quite
a few people who are very anxious to buy but won't buy through
a dealer. It's only the big collectors who are willing to do so." He
added: "You ought to have a place in Paris where you could
always have canvases ready to be sold." There is something in
that, don't you think?
I saw the Monets, they are beautiful, but Fen£on is right, while
good, they do not represent a highly developed art. For my part,
1 This exhibition opened at Durand-RueVs on May 25 and lasted for a month. It
included 24 canvases of Sisley, 24 Renoirs, and 26 Pissarros (11 paintings and IS
pastels and gouaches). Monet was not represented for he had broken with Durand-
Ruel and signed a contract with Thdo van Gogh to have his work handled by the
Boussod & Valadon Gallery.
126
I subscribe to what I have often heard Degas say, his art is that
of a skillful but not profound decorator.
Theo van Gogh seems dissatisfied by Feneon's article ; he told
me that Monet had said that it could have been anticipated. You
will see that I will be blamed for the article, and actually I don't
try to stir up trouble, I do my best to calm both sides. I cannot
be held responsible for the ideas of others, even though correct,
particularly when they are expressed in an exaggerated form.
Durand-Ruel is disappointed in his venture in America.
PARIS, JULY 10, 1888
My dear Lucien,
I told you that Monet's recent paintings did not impress me
as more advanced than his other works j almost all the painters
take this view. Degas is even more severe, he considers these paint-
ings to have been made to sell. Besides he always maintains that
Monet made nothing but beautiful decorations. But the recent
works are, as Feneon says, more vulgar than ever. Renoir also
finds them retrograde. Durand's son, too, is of this opinion; but
of course his attitude is governed by the fact that he is a rival
dealer.
I ran into Monet at Durand-Ruel's. For some reason or other
he always seems to have a sly look. I happened to be reading an
article which criticized his work in the most idiotic way, present-
ing arguments so stupid that I couldn't help calling them to his
attention; the things said in his favor were equally idiotic. Other
than this we did not discuss painting — what would be the point? —
he cannot understand me. After all, he may be right, for each
one of us must be faithful to his own capacities!
I met Bracquemond who expressed great admiration for my
Girl Breaking Wood [722]. We discussed divisionism, he told me
that he thought my new decision was correct, that it was more
than chance that had made me take this path. As you see, he is
very sympathetic.
1 In a review of Monet's show at the Boussod & Valadon Gallery, Fe"ndon had re-
ferred to Monet's "brilliant vulgarity,'" adding: "His renown increases but his talent
does not seem to have developed since the Etretat series." This notice appeared in
July, 1888 in La Revue Independante.
127
PARIS, JULY 12, 1888
My dear Lucien,
There is a mystery in this commerce in pictures which I try
to unravel from what I see and hear. Thus, yesterday Durand
suddenly took me aside and asked me, in a tone almost of accusa-
tion, whether I had sent any pictures to Theo van Gogh.
"Yes," I replied.
"You shouldn't send your pictures to a person like that! Why
didn't you let me have them?"
"Because you have quite a few and can't sell them immedi-
ately."
"Bring them to me, and have nothing more to do with Theo
van Gogh, for his having your pictures is bad for my business
and keeps me from selling."
"Look here M. Durand, you don't sell my pictures."
"But I do, I sold some in America."
What do you think of this? You realize, of course, that I can't
take Durand's suggestions ; elementary prudence forbids such a
course. If I bring everything to Durand and he drops me, as
he did in the past, I will have no way out, I will be tied hand and
foot, at Durand's mercy. Good man though he be, he will prob-
ably always behave, despite himself, as he has behaved in the
past. So I told him very frankly that Theo van Gogh had sold my
new canvases, likes them very much and has defended them in-
telligently, and that I would not take back the pictures I had left
with him. This doesn't prevent me, I added, from showing you
what I have.
The upshot: Durand is disgruntled to see Monet dealing with
Boussod & Valadon [Theo van Gogh], he would have liked to
keep Monet, he wants me to stick with him but he gives me no
real assurances. The incident gave me an opportunity to tell him
that I was absolutely without money, he promised to send me
some, we shall see if he keeps his promise. I think he is very
anxious not to let me languish, that wouldn't be very clever on
his part.
128
18. — Camille Pissarro's House at Eragny, Photograph.
..-. •
rfU* A
ip .-^tir
jQu
BB *^
•
La
M
-<•*■
aSvb^^B^
%jf-. '5
&
r
■ i
■
?> .
'"
*nS
■
^^^
P!*
!
'r J
•
19. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's Wife, about 1883.
20 — M. Luce: Portrait of Camille Pissarro, 1890.
21. — Camille Pissarro, Photograph, about 1893.
ERAGNY [AUGUST 22, 1888]
My dear Lucien,
I hope you thought of showing my canvases to Seurat for I
am very anxious to know his opinion of them. You don't mention
your exhibition, I want to know all about it; I don't think exhibit-
ing can be as bad as that, the collectors are simply not interested
in painting, good or bad. If we had to hear everything they said
we would be fair game for the dealers. . . . Aren't we that already?
I would be very happy if Seurat and Signac came here before
they leave. Your mother hasn't said anything but you know that
she is gracious to everyone. The weather is as uncertain as ever.
I work just the same but not as much as I would like.
PARIS, AUGUST 31, 1888
My dear Lucien,
Nothing concluded yet with Durand-Ruel. Today he looked at
the gouaches that Cluzel sent him this afternoon. You couldn't
guess which ones he likes, which he dislikes. The Landscape with
Cows he doesn't care for at all ; he says it is too yellow, that nature
is not as exaggerated as I represent it to be, in short he sees no
poetry in the canvas. Les Fillettes qui font de Vherhe he doesn't
like either, the girl crouching is not sufficiently articulated, her
body isn't felt. In my Sheep, the landscape is not sufficiently mod-
eled. The only one he likes is Two Young Girls Standing. We the
artists, you see, have no understanding of painting. He is behav-
ing, it seems to me, like a tradesman who deliberately disparages
the goods he is to buy, so I don't think he'll give me a good price.
I'll hear from him Saturday.
That's the way painting is understood, it's incredible! As I
remember he said exactly the same things to me about the
gouaches and paintings I showed [at the exhibition] ; despite
Durand they were a great success. That's what everybody told me
last night, Bazire of L'Intransigeant said so too and praised my
work to the skies; I mentioned this to Durand and I recall now
that when Renoir, Monet and Sisley brought him sketches, he
made a great fuss about them, particularly about Monet; he had
no fault to find when, as a matter of fact, despite their talent there
129
was something to be said against them. . . . But I know where I
am going.
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 4, 1888
My dear Lucien,
Will I be able to leave tomorrow? I am waiting for Durand's
reply. If he does not sell my gouaches I will turn to Theo van
Gogh who has returned [from Holland] and will do his best to
place them. He told me again that my Rouen is almost sold, his
collector is very anxious to have it but is not very rich. It is always
the penniless who are well disposed, those with money are hesitant
and buy Leloirs (I believe that's the name) at 30,000 francs per
ordure according to van Gogh's estimate! That's the way it goes.
Theo van Gogh told me that my etchings, Degas' drawings,
your woodcuts and the Seurat have created a sensation at The
Hague 5 it seems that some old man with a critic's license, a repre-
sentative of all that is most bourgeois and official, provoked by the
general interest in these works, wrote a long article in a serious
bourgeois newspaper, hurling anathema at us and predicting the
end of the world ; he took particular exception to me and simply
cut me to pieces, the old fool ! . . . Like a volley of shot came the
reply from all the newspapers devoted to the renewal of art, one
particularly, very well written and widely read, a paper supported
by all the young artists and writers, warmly championed us in a
long article on my etchings, your woodcuts, the Degas drawings
and the Seurat. The article showed real knowledge of the modern
art movement in Paris. Imagine the commotion, a little more and
they would have come to fisticuffs. . . . Finally van Gogh wants
to know how much you want for a proof of the engraving you
made of my drawing for Les Travaux des Champs and two others
which I don't remember j I told him five francs each.
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 6, 1888
My dear Lucien,
Durand-Ruel is sick, it is several days now since he has been
seen in the rue Laffitte. I wrote to him, he finally replied that he
130
^>5a^i
22. — Les Travaux des Champs: The Sower. Drawn by Camille and cut on
wood by Lucien Pissarro. Published in 1888 by Theo van Gogh.
was not going to take my gouaches. What I can't understand is
why the devil he urged me to let him have them. I am going to
bring them this very morning to Theo van Gogh and I hope
Durand won't complain if I bring my canvases to anybody. What
do you think of that? . . . He has been complaining that Monet
dropped him for Boussod & Valadon as though he himself were
not responsible. If he wants to have the same relations with us as
formerly he will have to take all our work. Unquestionably there
is bad blood between Durand and van Gogh ; the former is furious
about the deal with Monet. Theo van Gogh knows this. But what
can we do, aren't we forced to go elsewhere? As for van Gogh
he will do everything possible to prove to Durand-Ruel that the
gouaches can be sold.
It was a good thing that I didn't bring my oil paintings. I was
right to put Durand to the test with my gouaches, but I never
imagined that he would hesitate on such slight grounds ; it was
just a trial and it will leave me more free in the future. It's really
strange, he wavers and won't even stick to what he demands of
you. His son Charles just left for New York.
I think continually of some way of painting without the dot.
131
I hope to achieve this but I have not been able to solve the prob-
lem of dividing the pure tone without harshness. . . . How can one
combine the purity and simplicity of the dot with the fullness,
suppleness, liberty, spontaneity and freshness of sensation postu-
lated by our impressionist art? This is the question which preoc-
cupies me, for the dot is meager, lacking in body, diaphanous,
more monotonous than simple, even in the Seurats, particularly
in the Seurats. . . . I'm constantly pondering this question, I shall
go to the Louvre to look at certain painters who are interesting
from this point of view. Isn't it senseless that there are no Turners
[here] .
PARIS, OCTOBER 1, 1888
My dear Lucien,
I had a long conversation with Renoir. He admitted to me that
everybody, Durand and his former collectors attacked him, deplor-
ing his attempts to go beyond his romantic period.1 He seems to
be very sensitive to what we think of his show; I told him that
for us the search for unity was the end towards which every intel-
ligent artist must bend his efforts, and that even with great faults
it was more intelligent and more artistic to do this than to remain
enclosed in romanticism. Well, now he doesn't get any more por-
traits to do.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 13, 1888
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter yesterday, I think I will participate in
this exhibition but only under certain conditions. If I am to show,
my prints must be presented properly. You see how much impor-
tance Whistler attaches to the mode of presentation, and he is
very right to do so. It is not a good idea to have several proofs in
the same frame. It is much better to have each proof, even the
smallest, in its own frame.
1 At about that time, Renoir, absorbed mostly by the problems of linear form, made
a great many drawings and painted in a style which has since become known as his
"Ingresque" period.
132
I've worked all these days on my etchings. I have made two
new ones and retouched two old ones which have not yet been
exhibited. I'm sending them to you so that you can have Delatre
pull the trial proofs. See to it that he just makes one proof of each
and that it's as fine a proof as possible, let him take particular pains
with the sky in the little Port of Rouen [D. 56] which I reworked;
the sky should remain white and luminous as in the proof Jacques
fils pulled for me, that is the main thing; I don't want to weaken
the plates by pulling, I'll have them steeled. Send them to me
immediately so that I can retouch them if necessary.
For a month we have had magnificent weather, I very much
regret that I didn't begin a study from nature with the hoar frost
and mist; we have this effect all the time, but I have so many
things going. I almost finished my sunset, Briqueterie [724], I
am still working on it, the sky is completed but I am going slowly;
the other canvases which are less advanced are also progressing.
133
188 9
PARIS, FEBRUARY 20, 1889
My dear Lucien,
Your mother must have told you that I have been offered 1 ,200
francs for my twelve watercolors; after paying the dealer, 1,020
would remain for me. I have decided to make the sacrifice, I can't
afford to hesitate. I will send you the money as soon as possible. I
hope that I won't have to let my etchings go for a song, but can
realize enough on them to put something aside for the future. The
watercolors had great success. I think I will decide to go to
Rouen to make some more.
I haven't finished my prints yet, I am having a hard time get-
ting good proofs; it takes so long, so very long. I put everything
in order in the evening, and as soon as they are ready have them
mounted. Will I have the same luck with them as with the water-
colors? The publishers are not used to paying much, they like
to wait for auctions at which they can get bargains, the collectors
are even more patient. For them the great thing is to find mar-
velous, rare proofs for three or four francs or even less. Don't the
richest collectors have this passion for discovery?
I don't know what to write Feneon about the theory of "pas-
sages".1 I will write him what seems to me to be the truth of the
1 This data was doubtless for an article in preparation. While the question of the
"passage," which was to separate Camille Pissarro from pointillism and thus from
divisionism, was then the main preoccupation of the artist, he was still unable to
express himself with precision on it. Replying to Filix Feneon in a letter dated Feb.
1, 1889, he wrote: "I received from Eragny your letter asking me to give you some
technical information on 'passage.' It would be difficult to say anything about this;
134
matter, that I am at this moment looking for some substitute for
the dot 5 so far I have not found what I want, the actual execution
does not seem to me to be rapid enough and does not follow sensa-
tion with enough inevitability 5 but it would be best not to speak
of this. The fact is I would be hard put to express my meaning
clearly, although I am completely aware of what I lack.
ERAGNY, AUGUST 12, 1889
My dear Lucien,
Your mother wants you not to forget to go to the pawnshop to
pay what we owe. Since you said nothing about this in your letter
she is very much afraid that you will overlook the matter and it
is urgent.
I have almost finished my Gleaners. I have gone back to my
Haymakers [729—730] and worked on the little Goose Girl
[1435] and a detrempe for Ouzel. The work is really going well
— it's always like that when you begin.
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 9, 1889
My dear Lucien,
I went at once to Theo van Gogh's to see how my paintings look
in new surroundings. I am fully satisfied. The Women with Buckets
in a beautiful new gilt frame is quite perfect; it has height
of tone and comforting warmth, it has fullness and power. I like
the painting better than the Gleaners which ought to be more
I am trying at this very moment to master the technique which ties me down and
prevents me from reproducing with spontaneity of sensation. It would be better to
say nothing about it, I have not yet really settled the question."
Signac, some years later, in his book: De Delacroix au Neo-impressionnisme, tried to
explain Pissarro's desertion thus: "Pissarro wants to achieve delicacy by means of ad-
justments of nearly like tones; he keeps from juxtaposing two distant tones and does
without the vibrant note which such contrast gives, but strives on the contrary to
diminish the distance between two tints by introducing into each one of them inter-
mediate elements which he calls 'passage'. But the neo-impressionist technique is
based precisely on this type of contrast, for which he feels no need, and on the violent
purity of tints which hurts his eye. He has kept of divisionism only the technique, the
little dot, whose raison d'etre is exactly that it enables the transcription of this con-
trast and the conservation of this purity. So it is easy to understand why he gave up
this means, insufficient as it is by itself."
135
than satisfactory, but it was not framed and this makes it hard
to judge. Incidentally van Gogh finds them very beautiful.
I went to the exhibition on the rue de Grenelle [the Independ-
ents]. There I met Feneon and Regnier. Kahn is serving his
twenty-eight days, he was not able to get a leave. I saw Hayet
yesterday morning, he was discontented with the hanging.
The hall is beautiful. Entering it, I found the light not too bad,
on each side of the main room are little connected rooms in which
the light is horribly raw : the dots of color stand out in the most
frightful way ; but in the main room they impress me favorably.
Certainly at first sight the neo-impressionists seem meager, luster-
less and white, — particularly Seurat and Signac. But once you
become accustomed to them they appear much less so, while, how-
ever, having a kind of stiffness which is disagreeable. A new
Seurat in the big room seemed to me very beautiful, very clear,
a Signac in the same room, done the same year, is also very beau-
tiful and firm but is too dependent on Seurat. A landscape by
Hayet painted in oil, very beautiful, well drawn, good in its
color values, I found rather admirable, a little lusterless but that
comes from the uniformity and stiffness of the dot. Your Road
hangs between these two painters or rather near them, for all three
of you are flanked on each side by black smears. Your Road is very
good, the only thing I find I object to is the trees which seem to
me to be a little weak against the sky or rather not strong enough
in their color values. But the painting stands up very well beside
the other neo-impressionists. The motif could perhaps have been
better composed : the foreground should have been shortened ; the
dark section in the foreground, for example, is superfluous. The
Portrait of Cocotte, badly hung in the other room, seems to be
technically better. The background is spoiled to some extent by
the folds of material, they were unnecessary, if you rework them
I think you will do better to decide on a plain background. The
hands are not very well done, it's a pity. Hayet's La Place de la
Concorde, in the same ill-lighted room, didn't please me at all,
not at all. It does have a little life, but how vulgar in motif, tone,
composition, drawing! The figures in the foreground are very
bad. No, it is really very poor 5 the landscape is a hundred times
superior. The Toulouse-Lautrecs are very interesting. Feneon likes
the Anquetins, but they owe too much to the Orientals.
The others have nothing, nothing, nothing at all. Oh yes, there
is a frightful Hyacinthe Pozier above Hayet's landscape. It is
136
framed in varnished dark brown wood with large ornaments which
I swear to you are made of straw, but of straw like in straw mats !
The monstrosity of this ornamentation simply cannot be conceived.
It is worthy of the period of the Eiffel Tower. Whoever thought
this up is truly a man of genius, he has found something worse
than plush, he is really great!
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 13, 1889
My dear Lucien,
Theo van Gogh sold a Monet to an American for 9,000 francs.
But in general business is bad.
* * *
Deserted by Monet, the Boussod & Valadon Gallery in February
of 1890 held an exhibition of Camille Pissarro. In the spring of
that year the artist went to work in London where he painted the
Bridge of Charing Cross, views of Hyde Park, Hampton Court
Green and Kensington Gardens [744— 747 J. Lucien Pissarro, who
had not revisited England since 1884, and Maximilian Luce ac-
companied him, and returned to France with him several weeks
later.
It was after his return that Camille Pissarro was requested by
Theo van Gogh to take in his brother Vincent who was anxious to
leave the asylum of Saint-Remy near Aries where he had been
confined since May 1889. Pissarro, who had known Vincent van
Gogh from his first appearance in Paris in 1886, and who had
often advised the Dutch painter during the period when the latter
was abandoning his dark style for the impressionist technique, was
ready to put him up at Eragny. But Madame Pissarro was afraid
of the effect on her children of an unbalanced man. So Camille
Pissarro suggested his friend Dr. Gachet at Auvers on the Oise,
who was willing to care for Vincent van Gogh. The latter came to
Auvers in May 1890 and there killed himself in July of the same
year.
In November 1890, Lucien Pissarro returned to England.
He set himself up in London, and helped by his cousins Alice
and Esther Isaacson, tried to find pupils for lessons in drawing and
engraving. Recommended by Feneon and Octave Mirbeau, he
was able to meet English artists like John Gray, Charles Ricketts
137
and Charles Shannon who in turn introduced him to Whistler.
Through Ricketts and Shannon he became interested in the efforts
made by William Morris to bring about a renaissance of the wood-
cut and the illustrated book. Ricketts and Shannon invited Lucien
to collaborate with their review The Dial, the first issue of which
had appeared in 1889, illustrated with woodcuts "printed from
the wood to insure the greater sweetness of the printing." Lucien
Pissarro contributed to the second issue which appeared in Febru-
ary 1891.
Lucien naturally kept his father in touch with the studies and
researches of his new friends. These were all the more interesting
to Camille Pissarro because they had some connection with his
own efforts.
Indeed, at this period Camille Pissarro devoted much time to
etchings and even resumed working at lithography which he had
abandoned since 1874, a year in which he executed a dozen litho-
graphic drawings (see fig. 1). He now bought a press which en-
abled him to proceed with his graphic work during the long winter
evenings in Eragny. From this time almost all his etchings were
printed by himself, usually on papier d'Ingres or old Dutch paper,
of which he always kept in stock a good supply obtained from old
ledger books. He also began to make experiments in color printing,
using for this four plates, one for each color, blue, yellow and red,
and a keyplate, black, for the outline, as in the typographic proc-
ess. As for Pissarro' s lithographs, they were either drawn directly
on the stone or on specially prepared plates of grained zinc, but
some drawings were also done on paper, transferred and sometimes
retouched on the stone. These lithographs were printed in Paris by
M. Tailliardat, a man of great understanding and intelligent
patience}
Pissarro also began to work on a series of drawings: Les Tra-
vaux des Champs, which were to be cut on wood by Lucien.
At his exhibitions Pissarro showed from time to time a few
specimens of his etchings, which never attracted much attention.
In 1889 and 1890 he showed with the group Les Peintres-
Graveurs at Durand-RueVs. His etchings were priced from IS to
140 francs.
1 For more information on Pissarro' 's graphic work, see the article on his etchings
and lithographs in The Print-Collectors Quarterly, October 1922, by the artist's son
Ludovic Rodo.
138
18 9 0
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 14, 1890
My dear Lucien,
We were awaiting impatiently your letter announcing your
arrival in London. You are really lucky to have had a good trip,
the weather here has been very unfavorable.
I received a letter from the brother-in-law of Theo van Gogh.
He writes that Theo is calmer and that it will be possible to send
him to Holland.1 The Vingt are to include van Gogh's works in
their exhibition as are the Independents who will have one room
for Dubois-Pillet,2 and one for Vincent.
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 17, 1890
My dear Lucien,
Each one of us has several facets. The surface often appears
more important than what is inside, hence the errors of those
who judge carelessly. How many times has that not happened
to me ! The surface is often complete in some people from the very
beginning, but not the possession of their own sensations. From
this come errors. Some natures achieve the surface very slowly j
this is the least danger an artist runs. So one should not think
1 After the suicide of his brother, Thdo van Gogh fell seriously ill and apparently
even became insane. Brought to Holland, he died in January 1891. He was buried in
the little cemetery of Auvers beside Vincent whose inseparable companion he had been.
2 Dubois-Pillet, one of the founders of the Salon des Independants, had died that
same year,
159
of the surface or the appearance, but concentrate on what is inner!
How many pupils have you, at the moment?
I am very worried about Durand-Ruel, I am terribly afraid
that he will let me down. The papers here announce a dreadful
crash in New York and London. The famous Barings whom every-
one spoke of are in dire straits, the Bank of France has been
obliged to lend England 75 millions to prevent a European disas-
ter. Good enough! But the counterstroke ! What will the victims do?
Since your departure, besides preparing canvases, I have made
five fans which I am very satisfied with. I have two Effects of Fog
which you have not seen and which are interesting; one is on
Japanese paper and is magical; another is on onion paper, it is
very strange. It is a red sunset like an Aurora Borealis, with a
stripe of pearl-grey fog, with cows vague in the fog and a tall girl
in the foreground [1 644] . I bet Durand won't take it.
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 26, 1890
My dear Lucien,
I am happy to hear that you have found friends worthy of you,
but it is strange that the young English artists are so ignorant of
the impressionists. You tell me that these young fellows engrave
on wood and that they were taught the craft. You seem to regret
that you were not. This is not the first time you have voiced such
regrets. — All right, but I continue to believe that it is better to
perfect oneself little by little and by one's own efforts. Just think
for a moment, had you learned engraving from Lepere or even
Florian, would you be able to produce a work you could call
your own? Are you so naive as to believe that? By simply continu-
ing with engraving you will achieve something very different but
artistic.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 11, 1890
My dear Lucien,
This morning I received your letter which, as always, we
awaited impatiently. You tell me of the new acquaintances you
have made in London and of the negative results of all your
140
efforts. But, my dear Lucien, you shouldn't be surprised that swal-
lows don't fall into your mouth completely roasted. You must
redouble your efforts and continue in spite of everything. Nothing
comes without great exertions. I told that to you before, I repeat
it again for it seems to me that you lack confidence. But that's
absurd !
I will probably soon be in Paris for it is going to be necessary
to sell something. Soon I will have completed my four or five
little canvases of about 21 x 18 inches and 18x15 inches. The
canvases of 21 x 18 are very good 5 they have, I think, more
liberty, more air than have my previous works. I am completely
satisfied with them. All I need to be made happy is for them to
please Durand. Eight days ago I sent him my five fans; he has
not yet replied. I can't understand why he remains silent, or, to
be more exact, I understand that poor Th£o van Gogh who bol-
stered me against him is no longer here.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 12, 1890
My dear Lucien,
I just this moment received your letter. I'm really astonished
by your expressions of discouragement. For you to write in this
way means many scenes here at home. After I wrote you just to
warn you, you had to put your foot in it! If you are already dis-
couraged you will not accomplish anything in London. You must
understand once and for all that one must be sure of success to
the very end, for without that there is no hope! It's the same in
everything, in business as in art. He who doubts is lost before-
hand! How many times haven't I told you that where there's a
will there's a way 5 but nothing comes of itself. You've hardly been
gone a month, damn it, and it takes a little time to arrange one's
affairs. You have good opportunities, you ought to succeed, besides
it is absolutely necessary that you do so!
The worst of it is that your discouraging letter comes to cap
other troubles, such as our not having a maid, my not having
heard from Durand-Ruel about my five fans, my fears that this
Durand will play me some dirty trick and the consequences of
Th£o van Gogh's madness. These things do not discourage me at
all, I have been in such predicaments before, but your mother
can't keep her grip. She is constantly discouraged, and if you
141
of the surface or the appearance, but concentrate on what is inner!
How many pupils have you, at the moment?
I am very worried about Durand-Ruel, I am terribly afraid
that he will let me down. The papers here announce a dreadful
crash in New York and London. The famous Barings whom every-
one spoke of are in dire straits, the Bank of France has been
obliged to lend England 75 millions to prevent a European disas-
ter. Good enough! But the counterstroke ! What will the victims do?
Since your departure, besides preparing canvases, I have made
five fans which I am very satisfied with. I have two Effects of Fog
which you have not seen and which are interesting j one is on
Japanese paper and is magical ; another is on onion paper, it is
very strange. It is a red sunset like an Aurora Borealis, with a
stripe of pearl-grey fog, with cows vague in the fog and a tall girl
in the foreground [1644]. I bet Durand won't take it.
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 26, 1890
My dear Lucien,
I am happy to hear that you have found friends worthy of you,
but it is strange that the young English artists are so ignorant of
the impressionists. You tell me that these young fellows engrave
on wood and that they were taught the craft. You seem to regret
that you were not. This is not the first time you have voiced such
regrets. — All right, but I continue to believe that it is better to
perfect oneself little by little and by one's own efforts. Just think
for a moment, had you learned engraving from Lepere or even
Florian, would you be able to produce a work you could call
your own? Are you so naive as to believe that? By simply continu-
ing with engraving you will achieve something very different but
artistic.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 11, 1890
My dear Lucien,
This morning I received your letter which, as always, we
awaited impatiently. You tell me of the new acquaintances you
have made in London and of the negative results of all your
140
efforts. But, my dear Lucien, you shouldn't be surprised that swal-
lows don't fall into your mouth completely roasted. You must
redouble your efforts and continue in spite of everything. Nothing
comes without great exertions. I told that to you before, I repeat
it again for it seems to me that you lack confidence. But that's
absurd !
I will probably soon be in Paris for it is going to be necessary
to sell something. Soon I will have completed my four or five
little canvases of about 21 x 18 inches and 18x15 inches. The
canvases of 21 x 18 are very good; they have, I think, more
liberty, more air than have my previous works. I am completely
satisfied with them. All I need to be made happy is for them to
please Durand. Eight days ago I sent him my five fans; he has
not yet replied. I can't understand why he remains silent, or, to
be more exact, I understand that poor Theo van Gogh who bol-
stered me against him is no longer here.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 12, 1890
My dear Lucien,
I just this moment received your letter. I'm really astonished
by your expressions of discouragement. For you to write in this
way means many scenes here at home. After I wrote you just to
warn you, you had to put your foot in it! If you are already dis-
couraged you will not accomplish anything in London. You must
understand once and for all that one must be sure of success to
the very end, for without that there is no hope! It's the same in
everything, in business as in art. He who doubts is lost before-
hand! How many times haven't I told you that where there's a
will there's a way; but nothing comes of itself. You've hardly been
gone a month, damn it, and it takes a little time to arrange one's
affairs. You have good opportunities, you ought to succeed, besides
it is absolutely necessary that you do so!
The worst of it is that your discouraging letter comes to cap
other troubles, such as our not having a maid, my not having
heard from Durand-Ruel about my five fans, my fears that this
Durand will play me some dirty trick and the consequences of
Theo van Gogh's madness. These things do not discourage me at
all, I have been in such predicaments before, but your mother
can't keep her grip. She is constantly discouraged, and if you
141
continue to take the tone you have, you can imagine what the moral
effect will be! So hold fast!
I am writing this letter without your mother's knowledge for I
don't want to add fuel to the fire. I am by no means as pessimistic
as you are.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 20, 1890
My dear Lucien,
I have finished my pictures. If the weather is not too bad I will
most probably leave for Paris on Monday.
Durand wrote me that he found the fans very beautiful, and
that he would certainly take two or three. If with these he takes
my three paintings, I should get quite a little money.
One after the other the children took sick. They have all prac-
tically recovered, and the usual racket is beginning again. Your
mother found a young Breton maid who should do nicely.
PARIS, DECEMBER 23, 1890
My dear Lucien,
Durand has asked me to contribute some drawings to a review
which he supports, in fact, I think he is the publisher. I will send
you a copy of it.1 It has some reproductions of Degas; I persuaded
Durand to use an etched reproduction of one of my paintings;
Titi will handle it under my supervision, he ought to make a good
job of it. — At Durand's there is an exhibition of painting and
sculpture. The painting is very ordinary, although there is a pic-
ture by Zandomeneghi which is quite remarkable, and there are
sculptures by Rodin and Bartholome. — The figures by Bartholome
are first rate, among these there is a wax bust which is at once
extremely modern and very primitive; it has great nobleness, one
feels that the artist is a pupil of Degas. Very remarkable, too, is
a large piece which seems to be for a tomb : a young man, a young
woman and a dead child; it is truly poignant. ... It is far stronger
than anything by Rodin, whose works become petty and facile
beside it; there is also a little room filled with Legros' work. Some
1 This was L'Art dans Les Deux Mondes, a review published by Durand-Ruel from
November 1890 to May 1891. In this review important articles on Renoir, Monet, Pis-
sarro, Degas, Sisley, Seurat, etc., appeared.
142
very beautiful etchings, skillful as the deuce, but absolutely copped
from Rembrandt! Some sepia drawings, landscapes owing a little
too much to Claude and Poussin, model drawings for the class-
room, admirably done and completely derivative from the antique.
There is a profile which scandalously resembles a Leonardo j all
in all most of the great masters contribute something to these
works. As for the paintings, alas! Sad! Sad!
I went to the Boussod & Valadon Gallery. Nothing has been
decided. M. Joyant 1 is still doing all he can ; he has informed
me that my best collector, M. Dupuy, whom you know, committed
suicide. Isn't that extraordinary! What is most sad is that this
too honest youth killed himself because he believed he was bank-
rupt} his friends were heartbroken when they discovered that his
affairs were really in good order. Those who have taken over his
enterprises find that they are excellent!
Your mother made me take Titi with me so that I could find
a job for him; I took him along but I brought him back to Eragny.
She accuses me more than ever of having raised you to do nothing ;
as always I let the storm pass. For after all, what is the point of
putting a boy, Titi or Georges, in a factory where he will be ex-
ploited and either acquire no skill or if he does learn something
learn it badly, like young Murer? That would be idiotic. Wouldn't
it be better to have them wait for some good opportunity, and in
the meantime have them work with me? But these false notions
prevent me from getting them to work to good effect.
PARIS, DECEMBER 26, 1890
My dear Lucien,
I had a long talk with Dumont, who has an amazing shop on the
rue Laffitte, about the interest taken in engravings. Nobody ever
enters his shop. He is desperate, it seems that from New York to
London, from London to Paris there is complete disinterest in all
forms of the engraver's art. Reproductions alone are desired.
Goupil's sells its garbage in New York and London. Those who call
themselves pure art collectors have complete collections of Charles
Jacques, of Buhot, and among these things by Seymour Haden,
Whistler, and Legros slip in, but that is all. — It is very sad; not at
all encouraging.
1 Maurice Joyant, an intimate friend of Toulouse-Lautrec, had replaced Thdo van
Gogh at the Boussod & Valadon Gallery.
143
18 9 1
PARIS, JANUARY 2, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I have a real problem now : my eye has swollen in this intense
cold and threatens to abscess. I shall have to go to see Dr. Par-
enteau, and to stop running around.
I don't believe Durand will publish Les Travaux des Champs.
His review is just so much self-advertisement and nothing more.
Durand cares less for art than ever, he is having some reproduc-
tions of my paintings made by the Michalet process.1 Degas is
furious, he says that Durand probably hopes to get the Legion of
Honor.
Durand didn't want my small canvases simply because they
were in my last style. He says that an artist should only have one
style. Example: Ziem! Literally! I mentioned Delacroix, Turner,
Corot. Well, he said the dealers have all they can do to make
Delacroix understood even now.
[PARIS] JANUARY 7, 1891
My dear Lucien,
My eyes have been so bad that I had to interrupt all that I had
in view. You can imagine how distressing this is to me coming
directly after my troubles with Durand.
For some time now I have been anticipating this trouble with
1 The Michalet process was a method of non-photographic reproduction. The work
of art was redrawn for the plates, and this inevitably produced distortions and made
the reproductions very mediocre.
144
23. — Georges Seurat, Photograph.
> f
Oh 4
>.
G
bX)
Ed
s-
H
d
■ lH
<£>
£
CO
o
CO
-c
*H
c
„
u
fc
0)
w
4J
4)
C/5
£
<
0,
CO
u
0
26. — C. Pissarro: The Train to Dieppe, 1886.
my eyes. The intense cold to which I was exposed in my runnings
around aggravated my condition to such a point that the doctor
was afraid of erysipelas, which seems to be a very serious matter.
By constant medication we were able to control the swelling but
not to prevent an abscess from forming. I have kept to my room
since Friday and I probably won't be able to go out before several
days.
Gustave Kahn has just asked me for a painting. I have a canvas
of 21 x 18 inches which I think is what he wants. I am not un-
happy about this, as you may imagine, for truly the collectors are
not running after my works.
It seems that an article about me by Mirbeau will soon appear
in Durand's review. I don't know whether Durand will be angry
if Mirbeau should praise my last productions, but Durand seems
more convinced than ever that my last paintings will prevent my
early paintings from being sold.
Hayet came to see me. He is always the same, a great dreamer
and very practical. He proposed to introduce me to a former dealer,
who, it seems, understands painting, knows a great many dealers
and is generally a shrewd fellow. According to his brother he is
just the man for the neo-impressionists, and on the basis of this
personage, Hayet has constructed a complete plan for organizing
an exhibition in which I, the most balanced painter of the group,
would cut a brilliant figure.
This is what Hayet, good fellow that he is, has in mind : I am
to raise the flag of neo-impressionism and step forward as the
leader of the movement ; but, as I explained to him, I have no
desire for the position of chief, I would rather leave the struggle
for such honor to Gauguin and his likes. I have trouble enough
just trying to sell my work. Besides influence comes only with
time and despite one's will. When you have the qualities necessary
for leadership, the role will be thrust on you while you are asleep.
PARIS, JANUARY 10, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Hayet was to come yesterday with the young man who aspires
to be a dealer. He had begged Luce to come too; we waited until
11 :30: no one came. Hayet is really extraordinary! Is it all up
with those wonderful projects of his?
145
The group of painter-engravers is going to form an organiza-
tion which will be known as the Societe des Peintres-Graveurs
Frangais. It seems that I can't be a member because I am an alien! x
They intend to invite foreign-bom artists, but I will not accept
any invitation from them. How officious they are!
PARIS, JANUARY 13, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I will probably leave for Eragny tomorrow. I feel much better,
but I will have to keep my eye bandaged for another eight days.
I shall try to work with one eye ; Degas does it and gets good results;
he has only one good eye !
I am very happy that my things pleased you and I am particu-
larly pleased that your friends liked my print. I was well satisfied
with it. The woodcut you sent me is most charming and Ricketts
is right : if larger, it would be most effective. It is very good, you
are on the right road. You had your share of difficulties, but, as
you see yourself, you get nothing except at a price. When will
The Dial appear? I hope you can send me a copy.2
PARIS, JANUARY 14, 1891
My dear Lucient
I would be glad to exhibit my etchings in London, however I
don't expect anything, no more there than elsewhere, for truly
the collectors understand only the engravings of Charles Jacques,
Millet, Daubigny, and several others, if even! — It is enough to
make one renounce the medium. Fortunately I only regard it as
a pastime.
I have had all my watercolors mounted, and I am arranging
them in portfolios. If I could exhibit them! But it would cost
too much to have them matted. After all, I have 161. Georges likes
them better than my paintings.
1 The Society of Painter-Engravers, in deciding to admit to membership only French
citizens, thus excluded two of the best etchers of the period: Camille Pissarro, whose
parents had been French but who, born in the West Indies, was a Danish subject, and
Mary Cassatt, the American.
2 The second issue of The Dial appeared in February 1891.
146
27. — Les Travaux des Champs : Peasants in the field. Drawn by Camille and
cut on wood by Lucien Pissarro, about 1890.
PARIS, JANUARY 15, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I am still here. I wrote you that I had decided to leave but the
doctor advised me to wait a bit longer j it seems his previous op-
timism had been short-sighted, an abscess has formed.
The little money I put aside is slipping away fast. I am on pins
and needles. I have two paintings, which have already been sold,
to finish!
147
My dear boy, when I read the excellent articles of Mirbeau and
Geffroy, the master critics of Paris who lead the way and whose
good opinion is so sought after by the most fashionable, I ask my-
self: but what is the good of it! The public . . . doesn't care!
Durand-Ruel . . . doesn't care ! It tickles him a bit, and it will have
value later on; but for the present we can rot! . . . The important
thing for him is to buy low and sell high. How disgusting! Go
on then, devote yourself to pure art! But they point a finger at
you, and assume an ironical air . . . treat you like an imbecile. And
maybe they are right!
The publisher of E. Jacques, M. Benefit, as you know, has an
engraving shop at 21 rue Chaptal, very well furnished and attrac-
tive, not too big but good enough. In order to keep in touch with
Benezit who is an intelligent and active man, I left five framed
etchings which were sleeping at Dumont's, rue Laffitte. I will send
him my things from time to time, and later perhaps we can
organize an exhibition, either alone or with two or three others.
If I could get around, I would go to see Miss Cassatt to ask her
to participate 5 I will do something along these lines when the
weather is favorable. I would like Benezit to become our Theo
van Gogh for engravings! But so many projects fade the next
morning! Alas, everything is like that!
You are right, I believe, to stick to engraving, you are making
great progress, and your drawing is more and more masterful.
You really have your own note, and that is tremendous. But how
relate this art to life. . . . That is the problem, for the fact is
that engravings are of interest to nobody except those young
monomaniacs who prefer your wonderful simplicity to the en-
gravings of Lepere, Baude, etc. When you make a drawing which
is to be engraved on wood, you ought to strive for the proper dis-
tribution of your strong values in order to master them before
engraving. — In drawing, one can foresee the effect.
ERAGNY [JANUARY 22, 1891]
My dear Lucien,
Well here I am home at last, and not without troubles in these
evil days. My eye is much better, but I have to keep it bandaged,
which irritates me in the extreme.
148
I was very happy to notice in your letters evidence of new devel-
opments in you. You seem to have more self-confidence and will,
these are the fruit of strict application and long experience. Result:
your work has more assurance and more personality. This is a
good sign.
ERAGNY [FEBRUARY 1, 1891]
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you the latest number of L'Art dans les Deux
Mondes, we are discussed throughout its pages. Durand is propa-
gandizing furiously; the whole thing is incomprehensible, for on
the other hand he doesn't encourage me to bring him my pictures.
Portier has not gotten anywhere with my canvas of 21 x 18 inches,
but he is going to try to show my large canvas Peasant Breaking
Wood [757]. He seems to be aiming at replacing poor Theo van
Gogh. Poor lad, he is safe from pain now; it was sad to see him,
once so active and intelligent, out of his wits !
My eye has improved. This morning I was able to remove the
bandage and finish the canvas for Kahn, but I am quite sure the
abscess will form again.
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 10, 1891
My dear Lucien,
What is always most surprising in your communications is what
Crane, Ricketts, Shannon, etc., think of my work, the opinion some
have of my etchings, others of my drawings engraved by you. I
am all the more astonished since in Paris I hardly found anyone
aside from us who understood or liked them. Up till now I have
felt around me nothing but indifference for work in black and
white. Then, too, I am an extreme skeptic, and I often wonder
whether compliments are not paid me out of courtesy; doubt even
infects me to such a point that I lose the desire to make any more
etchings or lithographs. For seriously, do you believe that those
who sung my praise at the [exhibition of] painter-engravers,
meant what they said? . . . except for Degas, who told me he loved
149
my Field and Mill, but what about the others? ... As for the
collectors, I assure you that what they really like is Charles
Jacques, Buhot, Bracquemond, or Legros when he imitates Rem-
brandt; the same goes for Seymour Haden. But engravings based
on vivid sensations, no! And it is this that I try for when I do
engravings !
I finished the painting for Kahn. I think (you know the doubts
that assail one when one has just finished something) , I think
it is good; it was done very freely. I divided the tones without
waiting for the paint to dry and nevertheless it is quite luminous.
It has much more suppleness than my previous paintings and has
as much purity and light. So I feel that I am about to make rapid
progress with this approach. Ah, well! If Durand had wanted to
continue, I would have made a wonderful series of paintings for
him! But he doesn't understand. He doesn't care!
I am sending you the latest issue of L'Art dans les Deux Mondes.
It contains a very remarkable piece on Meissonier by Fourcault; it
is very harsh but completely just. But this will not prevent people
from hailing Meissonier — they can't help but be affected by the
prices his canvases get — "the greatest artist France has had for a
century", to quote the stupid remark of our Minister of Fine Arts,
Mister Bourgeois (how appropriately named !) .
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 15, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter and the proof of your lithograph. I am
sure that you can exhibit it, I find it excellent. Decidedly you are
finding your path.
What you write about your friends' ideas is quite correct. Damn
it, one must find one's own conventions! . . . Only a moment ago
I saw in L'Art dans les Deux Mondes that Shannon has just been
made a member of the royal society of painter-engravers, and
Bracquemond has been made an honorary member. Has Shannon
told you about it? — at the moment Bracquemond's star is rising,
rising !
This morning I received a letter from a Mr. P. G. Hamerton,
editor-in-chief of the London Portfolio. He got my address from
Durand and asks me for some drawings to accompany an article
150
28. — C. Pissarro: Woman sewing. Drawing, published
in 1891 in The Portfolio.
on the impressionists. I shall send him some figure drawings. Do
you know this review, do your friends? What is it like? 1
Abscessed again ! Once again the bandage for eight or ten days !
1 In 1891, P. G. Hamerton, editor of The Portfolio, published a series of articles on
"The Present State of the Fine Arts in France", the fourth of which was devoted to
"Impressionism" and accompanied by a drawing by Pissarro (see fig. 28). Hamer-
ton's attitude towards impressionism was typical of the critics of the time whose
erroneous conceptions of "the beautiful" and "the ugly" he shared. Hamerton wrote:
"There is M. Camille Pissarro, who has some very ardent admirers, and yet who is
very foreign to me . . . It seems to me that he admits lines and masses that a stricter
taste would alter or avoid, and that he includes objects that a more scrupulous artist
would reject . . . He does not seem to care whether the line of shore is beautiful or
not, and he has so little objection to ugly objects that in one of his pictures [probably
604 or 607] the tower of a distant cathedral is nearly obliterated by a long chimney
and the smoke that issues from it, whilst there are other long chimneys close to the
cathedral, just as they might present themselves in a photograph. By this needless de-
gree of fidelity, M. Pissarro loses one of the great advantages of painting."
151
And this is going to continue until the good weather comes. In my
fifteen days of grace I worked, now I am resting.
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 21, 1891
My dear Lucien,
The woodcut you sent me is just beautiful; your personality
comes out perfectly, the work is charming in every respect. The
movement is original, the values are very precise, the terrain in
the foreground is very delicately modeled, the background is well
drawn and well cut. You are making progress, you have found
yourself and that is immense; you can now go boldly in search of
your own conventions.
What, my etching pleased Mr. Ricketts? I am delighted. . . .
Nobody noticed it here. Don't you think that I could offer one
proof to your friend? Which of the two : The Market [D. 97-98]
or The Geese [D. 76]? I would be delighted if they want to re-
produce it [in The Dial] , you know that I have the steeled plates
for them in hand.
I have not yet begun to work on the etching, our little press is
so poor that the project is hardly attractive. And I am halted by
a lack of the necessary data. A press is something more to own;
and I am afraid that once I have all the necessary tools I may
neglect my painting. This would be bad business, for an etching,
as Bracquemond says, isn't worth twenty centimes.
The exhibition of painter-engravers opens April 1st at Du-
rand's. We are pushed out! Oh, these patriots! But I see that in
London they play the same game. When will artists be able to free
themselves from these official and retrograde ideas, so shabby and
bourgeois !
ERAGNY, MARCH 1, 1891
My dear Lucien,
In accordance with your wish, I chose forty-two proofs of
mounted etchings and will send them to you. You will find among
these a free proof of Setting Sun [D. 96], an artist's proof which
I would like you to deliver to M. Ricketts for me. You know that
152
these proofs are very rare, I have only eight of them, and these
are not very good; the plate is difficult to pull.
The proof of Fields and Mills is first-rate. There are only three
proofs of this sort; the steeling obliterated the suppleness of the
background. I have only three proofs left, the third is for the
Luxembourg Museum.1 Woman Emptying a Wheelbarrow
[D. 31] is rare, you recall that there are only two proofs, only
one of which, the one I am sending you, is good; this is the one
in grey. As for The Hovel [D. 20] you know that only six of this
one have been pulled. The steeled proofs are sometimes very beau-
tiful but less rare; if you need some more data, write and ask
me.
I suppose you will have difficulty in making people understand
that I am not an engraver, that these are simply graven
impressions.
ERAGNY, MARCH 9, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Signac, returned from Belgium,2 wrote me asking for my paint-
ing of Dubois-Pillet.8 Not a word about the exhibition of the
Vingt, however he offered to take some of my fans and sell or
show them for me. I wasn't very interested for I know the Belgian
collectors, who, when you come down to it, are simply two or
three artists who buy just in order to get information, and since
they know all about my work, they have no use for my things.
But real collectors, who love works of art, not simply because pro-
duced by a definite school, but because they are art, such collec-
tors do not exist! — They are too interested in what is being done
at the moment. I do believe they would scorn to buy even a
Degas or a Monet, or any other master who is well known. Strange
1 Pissarro had decided to leave a complete collection of his engraved work to the
Luxembourg Museum although the State never bought any of his prints.
2 Signac had gone to Brussels to appear at a banquet given by the Vingt, in whose
exhibition he had participated as a new member of the group; among the others who
had been invited were Seurat, Camille Pissarro, Gauguin, Guillaumin, Sisley and also
van Gogh, for whom the Vingt had organized a retrospective show. Pissarro exhibited
two canvases of London: Kensington Gardens [747] and the Bridge of Charing Cross
[74S] as well as three fans.
* The Independants were preparing a retrospective show of the work of Dubois-
Pillet who had fust died.
155
indeed! Yet how Belgian! . . . Nothing good can come from this
quarter. The truth is I don't know why I sent my work to the
Vingt$ in order not to seem to be breaking with them. But the
costs have to be met.
It seems that it was Gauguin and van Gogh who were the sub-
jects of controversy in Brussels this year; naturally there has been
much discussion in the newspapers.
I wrote to M. Benezit who has an attractive place on rue Chap-
tal, next to Boussod & Valadon, to ask if he would hold an exhibi-
tion of my engravings, drawings and gouaches. He had already
spoken of this to me. The moment is favorable. — I have just re-
ceived an invitation to exhibit as a foreign artist with the Peintres-
Graveurs Frangais. The exhibition will be held on April 3rd. I re-
fused for a number of reasons; among other things each exhibitor
is obliged to leave with the society one proof of each work shown.
This is understandable for those who pull three or four hundred
proofs but I, who most of the time have only three or four proofs,
would lose all my stock! What do you think? I would much rather
exhibit alone, if it were possible. All the same I wouldn't have said
anything under other conditions, but certain members of this
society impress me as ill-intentioned. I am distrustful !
ERAGNY, MARCH 19, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I finally completed three important canvases, two gouaches and
several etchings. I will probably leave for Paris Tuesday — if pos-
sible, Monday. Monet dropped me a line to inform me that he
had been visited by M. Montaignac, who, so it seemed to Monet,
indicated that he was disposed to deal with me; I will not lose
this chance. If you read the column from America in L'Art dans
les Deux Mondes, you must have seen that this gentleman is going
to America with big enterprises in view. Incidentally I advise you
not to fail to read with close attention the articles with news about
American affairs. And don't fail to let me know when you have
received my trunk of etchings.
154
ERAGNY, MARCH 23, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I leave Tuesday for Paris, it is decided. I shall try to deal with
M. Montaignac. At Petit's, he played a role like that of Theo van
Gogh at Boussod & Valadon's, he was the right arm of the firm.
He impressed me as an intelligent man quite sympathetic to our
art; I learned from Monet last year that he [Montaignac] had a
hand in his [Monet's] affairs; they were in touch for quite a
while, he [Montaignac] has also been in contact with Sisley — as
you see he is not a newcomer. I don't know what may come out
of this, but when one is shipwrecked and comes across a plank,
shouldn't he seize hold of it? But I don't expect extraordinary suc-
cesses, I know only too well that all I do is either badly understood
or displeasing. Evidently my art is not of a kind to please many,
so I am dreaming of quite modest dealings with Montaignac.
I am sending you UArt dans les Deux Mondes, UEcho de Paris,
in which there is an article by Guy de Maupassant on Swinburne,
the English symbolist poet, and L 'Eclair, which has an article on
the Independants in which Ceranda de Belzein is dubbed a great
painter and the neo-impressionists are called idiots. It is astound-
ing how uncultured are these writer- journalists . . . how preten-
tious ! Now these animals are beginning to discover that the sym-
bolists are not without talent, but you should see which of them
they single out. It is always the same story . . . and the public
imagines it is kept well-informed!
You are right to distrust those tricksters who are trying to wear
your shoes. If they were trying to exploit the possibilities of the
medium, such practices would be justified, but they take your
ideas, your cuts, your values, your execution, add some charlatanry
to the execution, and become successful !
PARIS, MARCH 50, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Terrible news to report: Seurat died after a very brief illness.
I heard the cruel news only this morning. He had been in bed
for three days with a disturbance of the throat. Improperly
treated, the illness developed with ruinous speed. It is my impres-
155
sion that the maladv was the very one de Bellio told me about
some time ago : diphtheria. The funeral takes place tomorrow.
You can conceive the grief of all those who followed him or were
interested in his artistic researches. It is a great loss for art.
I looked for a long time at your engravings at the exhibition
[of the Independents], they are hung to admiration on a panel
which divides the room of the impressionists into two sections. —
Your colored engravings are excellent, they are real pearls, the
others are very good, your lithograph has delicacy and distinction,
which, by the way, are your outstanding qualities. Your prints
have attracted a lot of attention, several of the newspapers men-
tioned them, M. Paul Mantz gave them high praise. I am sending
several [press clippings from the] Bonneau [agency] . It is obvious
that from the point of view of art you have an important place
in this exhibition. . . .
There is a splendid exhibition of that unfortunate Seurat; some
marines, as delicate as ever, somewhat white and weak in colora-
tion, but very artistic, and a large canvas, a Circus* which is ex-
ceUently composed; a clown cut on the foreground dissatisfies us,
but the work as a whole has the stamp of an original artist, it is
something! All his pictures are framed in chromatic colors and
the ensemble gives the effect of an intense blue and violet stain;
I find this disagreeable and discordant, it is not unlike the effect
of plush! . . .
Signac has some landscapes of the kind you know, very correct,
very well executed, but cold and monotonous; he has a bizarre
portrait of Feneon, standing, holding a lily, against a background
of interlaced ribbons of color which do not add to the decorative
quality of the work and have no value from the point of view
of sensation. Angrand's work is just about what it has been. Van
Rysselberghe has some good things, but one feels the academy in
his drawing. The pupils of Gauguin : a M. "Willumsen is terribly
like Bernard, Anquetin has some good things in a classical vein,
and some formidable soldiers' wives, but that he is very adroit is
evident. Emile Bernard: nothing new. Gauguin didn't exhibit.
He is leaving for Tahiti on a government mission obtained through
the efforts of Renan, Jr.2 He will come through. We who were so
1 This picture was since given to the Louvre by the American collector, John Quinn.
* This ''mission" amounted to nothing more than an informal promise to buy one
of Gauguin' s paintings when he returned. The purpose of the '"mission" was to give
Gauguin "standing"''' with the authorities in Tahiti.
156
close to him know that he has sreat vitalitv and is inured to the
difficulties of life, and can take a new tack if need be !
I am organizing a modest show at Durand's. One of the small
rooms; twelve etchings; drawings, pastels, gouaches; twenty-four
things in all. Along with mv work, in the other room, Miss C assart
will show an equal number of things. We want to open simul-
taneously with the Peintres-Gravcurs i it is Saturday, so I haven't
too much time.
PARIS, APRIL 1, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I am indeed happy to hear that Messrs. Ricketts and Shannon
think well of my engravings. There must be some way of coming
to an agreement about the two proofs they want: I don't want
them sold, no; you might suggest an exchange; it would be for
me a charming souvenir, I should like to see it hanging with our
collection in the dining room.
"With regard to your engraving, Sister of the Woods. I am far
from finding it a failure, but no ! It is the atmosphere of the thing
(not in the literal sense) , it is the taste of the ensemble. For ex-
ample, your little engravings that were exhibited also have a some-
what British air which was understood by all those who saw them,
but in addition, as I see it. there is in your engraving the savor of
rustic nature, if you will, something of the unknown which we
have here in Eragny, and which distinguishes whatever we do. In
your work particularly there is a naive good faith and a discreet
reserve which charms. Your Sister of the Woods has just a hint of
the rigidity and solemnity reminiscent of the English. It's nothing.
I do understand that Ricketts selected the subject, for The Dial, and
it's not bad, people will like it.
I am much taken up with my little show at Durand-Ruel's. I
am having my new prints framed. I will send you several of them
soon; there are some market scenes [D. 97-9S_. a Breton Peasant
Woman at the Well LD. 101], etc. I am waiting to see them
framed, then I will be able to appraise them.
I forgot to mention above when I discussed your engraving that
I am prepared to see you changed by England, that is inevita'
but I can assure you that you will never lose your naive and dis-
creet nature. Don't be anxious, then, about the changes taking
157
place in you. Go forward, resolutely, and if you put your whole
soul into perfecting a work it will be original. And persist obsti-
nately, obstinately in doing what you did at Eragny, only with
greater knowledge and experience.
Yesterday I went to Seurat's funeral. I saw Signac who was
deeply moved by this great misfortune. I believe you are right,
pointillism is finished, but I think it will have consequences which
later on will be of the utmost importance for art. Seurat really
added something.
PARIS, APRIL 3, 1891
My dear Lucien,
It is absolutely necessary, while what I saw yesterday at Miss
Cassatt's is still fresh in mind, to tell you about the colored en-
gravings she is to show at Durand-Ruel's at the same time as I.
We open Saturday, the same day as the patriots, who, between
the two of us, are going to be furious when they discover right
next to their exhibition a show of rare and exquisite works.1
You remember the effects you strove for at Eragny? Well, Miss
Cassatt has realized just such effects, and admirably : the tone even,
subtle, delicate, without stains on seams : adorable blues, fresh rose,
etc. Then what must we have to succeed? . . . money, yes, just a
little money. We had to have copper-plates, a boite a grain, this
was a bit of a nuisance but it is absolutely necessary to have uni-
form and imperceptible grains and a good printer. But the result
is admirable, as beautiful as Japanese work, and it's done with
printer's ink! When I get some prints I will send you some ; inci-
dentally I have agreed to do a series with Miss Cassatt $ I will do
some Markets, Peasant Women in the Fields, and — this is really
wonderful — I will be able to try to put to the proof some of the
principles of neo-impressionism. What do you think? If we could
make some beautiful engravings, that would really be something.
I have seen attempts at color engraving which will appear in
the exhibition of the patriots, but the work is ugly, heavy, luster-
1 While the Society of French Painter-Engravers was holding its exhibition in the
main room of the Durand-Ruel Gallery, Pissarro and Mary Cassatt showed their en-
gravings in two small adjoining rooms.
158
29. — Lucien Pissarro: Sister of the Woods. ^Yoodcut,
published in 1892 in The Dial.
less and commercial. I am certain that Miss Cassatt's effort will be
taken up by all the tricksters who will make empty and pretty
things. We have to act before the idea is seized by people without
aesthetic principle.
This is a bad moment for me, Durand doesn't take my paint-
ings. Miss Cassatt was much surprised to hear that he no longer
buys my work, it seems that he sells a great deal. — But for the
moment people want nothing but Monets, apparently he can't
paint enough pictures to meet the demand. Worst of all they all
want Sheaves in the Setting Sun! always the same story, every-
thing he does goes to America at prices of four, five and six thou-
sand francs. All this comes, as Durand remarked to me, from not
shocking the collectors! True enough! What do you want, I re-
159
plied, one has to be built that way, advice is useless. But while
waiting we have to eat and pay our debts. Life is hard!
PARIS, APRIL 8, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Unquestionably my figures are beginning to be noticed. Thus,
for instance, the etchings of Markets and the projects for fans in
my exhibition at Durand-Ruel's have had some success. I went
through the room of the Society with Degas, and he observed my
things closely, he complimented me again and again on the style
of my figures; Zandomeneghi too (who is so difficult) , noticed
particularly my designs, fans, gouaches, etc. That was very kind
and very flattering, but just the same Durand refused to take my
canvas of Mowers in Repose [773] with which I was very satis-
fied, a Sunset with Fog [767 or 768], and one Sunset. But a clear
categorical refusal! While telling that Monet had admired them!
I brought them to Portier who has become enthusiastic about my
latest things. But there is no point in having illusions, there are
few who understand. I am often discouraged when I see people
so indifferent, indeed in some I sense a repressed hostility. . . .
On the other hand I have noticed a sympathetic attitude in people
who for years did not understand my work and frankly told me
so; this gives me real satisfaction.
What has befallen Miss Cassatt is just what I predicted : great
indifference on the part of the visitors and even much opposition.
Zandomeneghi was severe, Degas, on the other hand, was flatter-
ing, he was charmed by the noble element in her work, although
he made minor qualifications which did not touch their substance.
... As to the practical results which Miss Cassatt anticipated, we
must not count on them unduly, the general response is mostly
hostile. As you can see, it is no use being astonished by the reti-
cence of one's comrades, the witticism directed at M. Prudhomme:
"Let's ignore that, it is not handmade!" always holds good for
artists and comrades, they do not love what is simple, sincere, or
if indeed they notice something which has such a quality, it is
only when its simplicity is the result of cunning. People are such
terrible gobblers in Paris! They are taken in with such unimagi-
nable facility! In this lies the secret of their coldness.
160
30. — C. Pissarro: Selfportrait, 1888.
31. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's daughter Jeanne,
about 1888.
32. — C. Pissarro : Portrait of the Artist's son Felix, about 1 885.
53. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's son Rodolphe, about 1884.
You really ought to send me a Dial so that I get an idea of it.
As soon as I am less preoccupied with questions of money, I will
have some prints made of the latest engravings I exhibited and
send them to you.
I have found my lost plates: The Hovel [D. 20] and Le Pere
Melon [D. 25], a whole parcel was discovered by Degas. He came
across them while cleaning up his studio and he has put them
aside for me 5 1 still don't know how many of them there are in the
lot.
PARIS, APRIL 9, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I have just received a card from the exhibition of the Independ-
ants. The writer wants to know the prices of your three woodcuts.
You see, they have been noticed.
I saw de Bellio yesterday; he sends you his best. He mentioned
that Monet was going to have a one-man show at Durand-Ruel's,
and exhibit nothing but Sheaves. The clerk at Boussod & Valadon
told me that the collectors want only Sheaves. I don't understand
how Monet can submit to this demand that he repeat himself —
such is the terrible consequence of success! It happens all the
time! I am very disturbed by Durand's behavior; he really seems
to want to bury me; if I don't take drastic steps to extricate myself
from this blind alley, I am done for.
PARIS, APRIL 13, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I am leaving without having made the most modest sale, de-
spite all Portier's efforts. One would say that people feel that I
am no longer good for anything. If you only knew what I was
offered by a dealer for two canvases of about 21 x 18 inches, paint-
ings which Durand had rejected, on which I had worked long
and with which I was most satisfied! I had asked Durand for five
hundred francs, the dealer offered two hundred! I was forced to
refuse this offer; to accept would mean to be crushed at once. —
The collectors understand nothing but Monet's work now, they
wrangle with me over the most absurd details. Not one offer at
161
my little exhibition, despite the fact that Zandomeneghi, Degas,
etc., complimented me no end. Janniot was delighted with my
show, he couldn't get over my watercolors on Japanese paper and
my etchings. "How's that?" he asked, "you aren't selling any?
That's most extraordinary!" However that's the way it is, and
the more I try the more humiliated I am. So I shall leave for
Eragny, I don't want to remain here without a penny.
There are moments when I ask myself whether I really have
talent ... in fact I often doubt it. What does my work lack then,
or what has it in excess?
I am enclosing a note from the Argus ; you will observe in read-
ing it that even Geffroy who is sympathetic to us, has little under-
standing of engravings. He has looked at your work, which is
really remarkable and quite unique in France, most superficially.
No, they do not understand us, they do not see the hidden mean-
ing, the mysterious beauty of the thing artistic 5 it will take twenty
years to uncrook the eyes even of those who devote themselves
to art ! And that applies to all of them, but all ! I think this is due
to the general trend of the period, it has not yet produced a man
capable of imposing his ideas on the masses. It was thus that M. de
Mareille was able to convince his epoch of Watteau's greatness.
I have just seen Portier who for a moment really discouraged
me. It seems that Duret exchanged an old work of mine, a little
painting done in 1873 with the Japanese, Hayashi, a dealer in
knick-knacks I know. Portier invited him to come and look at
my three new paintings, the Japanese replied that he did not care
for my recent work! But Portier, setting the old canvas, which
he had cleaned, alongside of my new ones, was completely en-
thralled by the latter. Incomprehensible! A Japanese! They were
all poured into the same mould! decidedly ... or I am indeed
blind!
Yesterday I met Sisley whom I had not seen for at least two
years. He is quite happy as long as he is adrift. He said that
Durand was our worst enemy ; he had tried to beat down Monet,
who unhesitatingly turned to Theo van Gogh, and from then on,
being able to keep his prices up, and having the support of
Madame H.,1 who has a small income, managed to rise. Durand
then became as soft as felt, formerly ferocious he became tender
1 Madame Hochedd, widow of the collector and owner of a Paris department store
who became Monet's second wife.
162
as a lamb. I turned to van Gogh too late, I might have had the
same luck!
Since Durand is unable to support all the impressionisms, it is
entirely to his interest to let them fall by the wayside after he has
obtained enough of their work, for he knows their pictures will
not sell until much later. The lower the prices, the better for him
— he can leave our canvases to his children. He behaves like a
modern speculator for all his angelic soft-spokenness. Sisley, who
can't forgive his lack of good faith, for we were all naive and
believed his promises, is convinced that Durand has lost out with
Monet whose exceptional luck and real talent served him in good
stead. If I could find some base of support, I would certainly frus-
trate his hyena-like calculations — but my work is not understood,
particularly since the death of Theo van Gogh. Such is the influ-
ence of a man who believes ! That is the sort of man it is neces-
sary to find. But such men are not ready-to-order. Perhaps I am
out of date, or my art may conflict and not be conciliable with
the general trend which seems to have gone mystical. It must be
that only another generation, free from all religious, mystical,
unclear conceptions, a generation which would again turn in the
direction of the most modern ideas, could have the qualities neces-
sary to admire this approach. I firmly believe that something of
our ideas, born as they are of the anarchist philosophy, passes
into our works which are thus antipathetic to the current trend.
Certainly I feel that there is sympathy for us among certain free
spirits, but the one I can't understand is Degas, for he loves
Gauguin and flatters me so. Friendliness and no more? . . . How
understand him . . . such an anarchist ! in art, of course, and with-
out realizing it!
PARIS, APRIL 20, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you the review L'Art dans les Deux Mondes and
a review which contains an article on Gauguin by Aurier.1 You
will observe how tenuous is the logic of this litterateur. According
to him what in the last instance can be dispensed with in a work
1 Albert Aurier, the symbolist writer, had devoted one of his first articles on art in
the new Mercure de France to Gauguin.
163
of art is drawing or painting} only ideas are essential, and these
can be indicated by a few symbols. — Now I will grant that art
is as he says, except that "the few symbols" have to be drawn,
after all j moreover it is also necessary to express ideas in terms of
color, hence you have to have sensations in order to have ideas. . . .
This gentleman seems to think we are imbeciles!
The Japanese practised this art as did the Chinese, and their
symbols are wonderfully natural, but then they were not Catholics,
and Gauguin is a Catholic. — I do not criticize Gauguin for hav-
ing painted a rose background nor do I object to the two strug-
gling fighters and the Breton peasants in the foreground,1 what
I dislike is that he copped these elements from the Japanese, the
Byzantine painters and others. I criticize him for not applying his
synthesis to our modern philosophy which is absolutely social, anti-
authoritarian and anti-mystical. — There is where the problem be-
comes serious. This is a step backwards; Gauguin is not a seer,
he is a schemer who has sensed that the bourgeoisie are moving
to the right, recoiling before the great idea of solidarity which
sprouts among the people — an instinctive idea, but fecund, the
only idea that is permissible! — The symbolists also take this line!
What do you think? They must be fought like the pest!
ERAGNY, APRIL 25, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Before leaving Paris I went to see Miss Cassatt. I watched her
make color prints of her aquatints. Her method is the same as ours
except that she does not use pure colors, she mixes her tones and
thus is able to get along with only two plates. The drawback is
that she cannot obtain pure and luminous tones, however her tones
are attractive enough. We will have to make a more definitive
trial of our own method to determine which is to be preferred. —
We had a long talk about the problem of selling pictures, I told
her about my position vis-a-vis Durand; she is incensed at Durand
on her own account and asked me if I would go along with her
if she left Durand. We will probably exhibit with Degas. She will
use all the influence she has to push our paintings and engravings
in New York, she is very desirous of upsetting Durand. She has
a lot of influence and Durand, who suspects that she is irritated
1 The reference is to Gauguin's painting Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, see fig. 5b.
164
with him, is trying to calm her down with promises and offers
which he does not make good. Degas also is very irritated, he too
has plans which bode no good for Durand. I am making some
lithographs, Meyer would like to have them, the deal will really
amount to something. If only I could drift for a while. I hope
Miss Cassatt will get something of mine sold, she liked my three
canvases very much and wanted to see them in their frames at
Portier's. — Will anything come of it? I have had so many disillu-
sionments that I don't dare expect too much. I don't depend on
Portier at all, he cannot replace Theo van Gogh. I think some good
exhibitions would help us, particularly in New York. I believe Miss
Cassatt is beginning to understand my recent work, she never be-
fore was as enthusiastic as this last time.
ERAGNY, MAY 2, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I will send you any day now the new etchings I mentioned. I
expected to have finished them, but a new abscess broke out and
I was forced to suspend all my work. I leave Sunday, that is, to-
morrow, for Paris, I will go to see Parenteau who will probably
operate on my eye. I was penniless and didn't know how I could
leave here. As a last resort I wrote to Monet who promptly sent
me a thousand francs. I will be able to give Grancey two hundred
francs, pay the rent, put a little aside for the house, and make the
trip to Paris. Good, but when will I sell something?
With my prints I will send you Les Hommes d'Aujourd'hui,
"Paul Cezanne", they have not deigned to send me a copy! 1
PARIS, MAY 5, 1891
My dear Lucien,
My affairs are at a complete standstill, however my reputation,
at least with Geffroy, Mirbeau and the painters, has not suffered.
1 The painter Emile Bernard, the friend of Gauguin, had just published in the
Hommes d'Aujourd'hui series a study of Cezanne, the first work to appear on the
painter of Aix. The brochure contained a portrait of Cezanne by Pissarro, see fig. 48.
Later numbers of the series were devoted to Seurat, Signac, Redon, Luce, etc.
165
There are, of course, certain young intriguers who claim that I
spent much of my life being influenced by Manet (the height
of absurdity) , Monet, Renoir, Sisley (astonishing to say the
least) , and even the pointillists. These young men speak of "per-
sonality" without having thought precisely of what the word
can mean. For them personality is expressed only in technique.
Yesterday Monet's show opened at Durand-Ruel's. I saw every-
body there. I went with one eye bandaged and had only the other
with which to take in Monet's marvelous Sunsets. They seemed
to me to be very luminous and very masterful, that was evident,
but as for our own development we ought to see deeper, I asked
myself: what do they lack? Something very difficult to delimit
clearly. Certainly in Tightness and harmony they leave nothing
to be desired 5 it would rather be in the unity of execution that
I would find something to be improved, or rather I should prefer
a calmer, less fleeting mode of vision in certain parts. The colors
are pretty rather than strong, the drawing is good but wavering
— particularly in the backgrounds — just the same, this is the
work of a very great artist.
Need I add that the show is a great success? This is not sur-
prising, considering how attractive the works are. These canvases
breathe contentment. —
Mirbeau spoke to me of your woodcuts which he finds admi-
rable, as does Monet. I saw not a few friends who inquired about
you.
Luce wants to know whether you would collaborate with me in
outlining the anarchist conception of the role artists could play
and the manner in which they could organize in an anarchist so-
ciety, indicating how artists could work with absolute freedom
once rid of the terrible constraints of Messrs. capitalist collector-
speculators and dealers. How the idea of art would be further de-
veloped, the love of beauty and purity of sensation, etc., etc. It
won't be necessary to elaborate, Georges Lecomte will do the actual
writing, it is a question only of ideas. It is to appear in a review
which Pouget hopes to launch. I am afraid I will be unable to set
down on paper the ideas that came to us so often — it is so difficult
to formulate an idea.
166
PARIS, MAY 7, 1891
My dear Lucien,
First of all, news about me : things for the moment are satis-
factory enough, however I am not without anxiety about what
the future will bring. Right now Parenteau is giving me injections
of silver nitrate while waiting for another abscess to form, when
that happens, and the eye is sufficiently inflamed, he will perform
the slight operation necessary. So the thing is only deferred. I
will probably now not suffer from abscesses so constantly, thus I
will be able to do a little work. Besides, I am getting used to the
idea of working with one eye, which is certainly better than none!
I have one hundred and fifty francs to send you for your ex-
penses, this money is the result of my modest show which had a
certain amount of success. Isn't that amazing? Monet has opened
his show, I wrote to you about it, well, it has just opened, my dear
boy, and every painting has already been sold for from 3000 to
4000 francs each! If I could only sell one fourth that many paint-
ings I would be only too happy to help Alice and Esther in my
turn, but no, it has been decreed that I am not to have the satis-
faction of making happy those near me, even your mother who
certainly deserves some rest from care. It breaks my heart!
I sent you with the etchings an issue of Les Hommes
(VAujourtThui, which has a portrait of Cezanne by me and a crit-
ical note by Bernard. This ignorant fool claims that Cezanne for
a time was under the influence of Monet. That is the limit, no?
However Gauguin knows all about the Cezanne studies done in
Auvers, Pontoise and elsewhere! Zola himself noted and, as I see
it, correctly noted, by whom Cezanne was influenced ! 1
But I was wrong to speak of Bernard's ignorance, it is just sharp
practice a la Gauguin. Bah! What's the point of this? Aren't we
all, including the great Gauguin himself, under the influence of
the milieu?
1 Pissarro here alludes to the incontestable fact that it was he himself who had in-
fluenced Cizanne when the latter worked near him at Pontoise and Auvers-sur-Oise
from 1871 to 1874. It was in this period that Cezanne purified his palette and changed
his until then fiery execution for one based on impressionistic touches of color.
Cezanne always openly admitted what he owed to Pissarro, and in 1904, after the
death of his friend, even described himself as "Pissarro's pupil". It seems that the
symbolists grouped around Gauguin and Emile Bernard, all ardent admirers of
Cizanne, wanted to ignore the fact of his indebtedness in order to aggrandize him.
167
PARIS, MAY 9, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Tell me if you have received my etchings and whether you like
them. The landscape has had some success, Degas liked The Mar-
ket very much. He advised me to leave it as it was, but I have
not yet made up my mind whether I want to try to give it more
clarity after I have made a few prints. You will notice it is quite
strong.
Times are hard, I can't sell anything. I have had five rather old
canvases done in 1872—1873 belonging to a banker,1 who com-
missioned them from me, on auction, besides four door panels
[183—186], (measurements 22 x 52 inches). The five canvases
are well preserved, grey and delicate, particularly Snow Effect
done at Louveciennes which is very good. There is also a small
canvas, Street of Louveciennes which seemed very fine to me. The
lot was sold for a song, eleven hundred francs for the four panels
and three hundred and seventy francs for the small canvas of 1 8 x
15 inches. The latter was bought to be sent to New York. The
buyer had seen my new things and had suggested them without
being able to get them taken — his backers claim they are done "in
dots" and won't hear of them. Only Theo van Gogh was able
to have the collectors here accept them. It's hopeless now, they are
more stubborn than ever.
Durand was at the auction. He let my paintings go at the most
ridiculous prices! However, they were works done long ago! The
strangest thing is that this devil of a Durand praised my Serpen-
tine with Effect of Fog [744] which belongs to M. Gallimard and
a small canvas of 21 x 18 inches done completely in the divisionist
technique, a field in a white, setting sun, which had been sold
to poor Dupuis who committed suicide. And didn't he say to me
yesterday, right in front of Zandomeneghi at the Monet show:
"Monsieur Pissarro, it's your turn now to have a good show!"
I have to send you on behalf of Madame Seurat, in memory
1 A reference to the auction of the collection of Achille Arosa which took place on
May 6, 1891. Arosa had paid in 1871 a hundred francs apiece for the four panels.
The banker Arosa was the godfather of Paul Gauguin and had introduced the painter
to modern art.
168
of her son, a drawing and a small panel. Send your card with a
line to 1 1 0 Boulevard Magenta.1
Anquetin is getting somewhere. Aren't these Normans clever!
Consider that he sent some grotesque things" to the Independants,
among them a rather good nude figure imitated from the primi-
tives, but carefully done, not badly drawn, rather attractively col-
ored, but also some horrible landscapes and a huge prostitute whose
enormous breasts hang outside her bodice. Naturally there was a
storm. He was not content with showing at the Independants
and sent eight objects to the Champ de Mars; seven were rejected.
Tumult in the newspapers, meetings of discontented artists, then
a third organization was formed, Anquetin, president. They will
soon open a fourth exhibition — what cliques !
PARIS, MAY 13, 1891
My dear Lucien, .
I was sure my prints would please you. It was a great pleasure
to me to make them. For a long time now I had been wanting
to do some things of this character — I had meditated on this for
such a long time during my days of inactivity that the actual
execution required very little time. If I had had better plates, I
would perhaps have gotten better results.
I am overjoyed to hear that you are beginning a painting in
your studio. It is by working in the smithy that one becomes a
blacksmith. It is incontestable that work in the studio is just as
difficult as work outdoors, but it is entirely different from the
point of view of the requirements, methods, and results. One
should not seek in the studio what cannot be found there, even as
outdoors one should strive only for direct and spontaneous sensa-
tions. Remember that watercolors help the memory, and enable
you to retain the most fugitive effects — watercolors render so well
the impalpable, the powerful, the delicate. And drawing is always
indispensable. Divide your tones without worrying about the dry-
1 Fe'nion, Signac and Luce were entrusted with the task of distributing Seurat's
works among his heirs: the artist's family and his mistress. They had suggested to
Madame Seurat that she present souvenirs of the dead painter to his former friends
and comrades. The drawings which Camille Pissarro received in this way he left after
his death to the Luxembourg Museum.
169
ing of the colors ; on the contrary I am sure that you won't dirty
the tone if you don't press too much on your brush and work with
the point.
I don't know for sure whether Miss Cassatt and Madame Berthe
Morisot will join the "Panel Society",1 but it shouldn't be difficult
to find out, I will ask them myself and will do all I can to per-
suade them. It seems to me it would be an excellent thing. The
regulations of the "Panel Society" look good to me, the organiza-
tion should accomplish something ; I see that in London the young
are not the Barnums they are here.
We are fighting against terribly ambitious "men of genius,"
who are concerned only to crush whoever stands in their path.
It is sickening. If you knew how shamelessly Gauguin behaved
in order to get himself elected (that is the word) man of genius,
and how skillfully he went about it. We were left no choice except
to smooth the way for him. Anyone else would have been ashamed!
Knowing that he was in such difficulties, I myself couldn't but
write to Mirbeau in his favor. He was in such despair. Mirbeau,
at the solicitation of the symbolists, wrote an article in which he
went too far, as I see it, and the article made a great noise. I
learned from Zandomeneghi that although afraid to go and face
Degas, Gauguin nevertheless wrote to him to ask for his support.
Degas, who after all is very fine and sympathetic to people who
are in trouble, put himself at Gauguin's service and bought a
canvas at the sale.2 De Bellio, who had been obstinately cold to
Gauguin, confessed to me that he had changed his view of Gau-
guin's work, that he now considered him to have great talent, al-
though not in sculpture. Why? ... It is a sign of the times, my
dear. The bourgeoisie frightened, astonished by the immense
1 Some of Lucien Pissarro's English artist friends planned to found a Society
primarily interested in the graphic arts. At the exhibitions to he organized by this
Society each member's work was to form a panel of the same size. The project fell
through eventually.
2 After his quarrel with Vincent van Gogh in Aries, towards the end of 1888, Gau-
guin lived in Brittany, working with Emile Bernard, Schuffenecker, Charles Laval,
Meyer de Haan, etc. It was during this period that he completed his Jacob Wrestling
with the Angel. Completely destitute, Gauguin decided to go to Tahiti, and proposed
to raise the funds by holding an auction of his works. On February 16, 1891, Octave
Mirbeau published in L'Echo de Paris a long article, the purpose of which was to call
attention to this sale which brought in almost 10,000 francs. Degas bought La Belle
Angele (today in the Louvre) for 450 francs, and a landscape of Martinique for 260
francs. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel brought 900 francs. Gauguin left on April 4,
1891. Later Degas acquired still other pictures of Gauguin, including a copy of
Manet's Olympia.
170
clamor of the disinherited masses, by the insistent demands of
the people, feels that it is necessary to restore to the people their
superstitious beliefs. Hence the bustling of religious symbolists,
religious socialists, idealist art, occultism, Buddhism, etc., etc.
Gauguin has sensed the tendency. For some time now I have been
expecting the approach of this furious foe of the poor, of the
workers — may this movement be only a death rattle, the last. The
impressionists have the true position, they stand for a robust art
based on sensation, and that is an honest stand.
Another genius! Anquetin. Wanted to play the Societe des In-
dependents a dirty trick. He insisted that a meeting of all members
be convoked at which proposals to change the by-laws and regula-
tions could be made. He proposed, first of all, to drop the name
Independants! This defeated his whole enterprise. Afterwards
measures were taken to prevent any similar attempt from succeed-
ing. So you see everyone is devoting much more time to intrigue
than to art. This is what we have come to — I hope it is different
in London. It is necessary to escape from this milieu.
PARIS, MAY 14, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I met Duret at the Monet exhibition at Durand-Ruel's. We
talked a good deal about you and about your woodcuts. Duret
likes your work so much that he has spoken of it to M. Gallimard.
This M. Gallimard is the collector who bought my Serpentine with
Effect of Fog [744] . Hence Duret thinks that you (or I, for that
matter) ought to show him a series of the best woodcuts you have,
in black and in color. M. Gallimard will unquestionably appreciate
your work. It is not unlikely that he will commission you to do
something special. Isn't it your dream to do a rare book? Nothing
prevents us from attempting it.
A sign of the times : at the shop of Bernheim-Jeune the dealer
on rue Laffitte, a canvas of mine done in 1882, has been hung in
the window. It is a landscape with the same motif as a canvas I
have in the studio : Women in the Fields; you must remember it.
This landscape is not as good as the one I have, it isn't bad at all,
but in the other, which was done in the studio, there is a calm,
a unity, and I do not know what quality that makes it more artis-
tic! The work done in the studio is sometimes much more severe,
171
less pretty in color, but in revenge more artistic and more care-
fully thought out. Just the same it's been a long time since I have
seen a canvas of mine at another dealer than Boussod & Valadon
or Durand-Ruel. Will my things sell at last so that we can ex-
tricate ourselves from poverty?
PARIS, MAY 17, 1891
My dear Lucien,
M. Gallimard has invited me to see his collection. I will take
along my little portfolio and avail myself of this opportunity to
show him your engravings.
The exhibition of the Champ de Mars has just opened, Luce and
Paillard, the engraver, told me that there were some very interest-
ing but quite defective furnishings by Carabin. Some beautiful
things by Puvis de Chavannes, some pretty Sisleys. I have not been
able to go there. Perhaps I will be able to take a day to see the
exhibition and then I will write you about it.
MAY 18
I am sending you three parcels of newspapers. I was delayed
in sending them. They consist of a series of newspapers which
contain material on the relation of art to socialism, this can serve
as a point of departure for the article I asked you to do from the
anarchist point of view. I read an article by Bergerat in Le Figaro
in which he took the position that art could not exist under social-
ism. Confusing socialism, syndicalism and anarchism, he claims
that the anarchists will be eager to subject art to the direction of
the state which will dictate in all fields ! What ignorance and what
bad faith! There is an interesting article on occultism which I
marked off and which I suggest you read, and there are articles
on the play which is going to be given as a benefit for Gauguin
and Verlaine. Tanguy told me that Gauguin arrived in Noumea,
he will have to remain there for five or six months since he hasn't
enough money to get to Tahiti. He will work there while waiting
for funds.
172
PARIS, MAY 24, 1891
My dear Lucien,
M. Gallimard found your prints very beautiful, very personal,
he told me that there is a general demand for color prints and
that these are much sought after, but that he has seen none to
compare with yours, which have a characteristic naivete which
charms. He showed me a volume by Verlaine illustrated with pen
drawings by Rodin, and another volume the cover of which has
pen drawings and writing on parchment by Raffaelli. That must
cost plenty! He ordered a drawing from Monet for a book, and a
gouache on parchment from me.
I really regret that you are not here, you would have been able,
you who have some experience in book-making, to open new hori-
zons to him, for I find that his books, unusual as they are, and
carefully printed, lack the essence of what is original in the mod-
ern conception, lack the grand style. They are unusual and well
made, that is obvious, but the disposition of the letters? The mise-
en-page? There is a lack of ornamentation and when the book is
printed simply the French characters are thin.
Thus the book whose cover was made by Raffaelli does not seem
to me to have been conceived in terms of French characters, which
are slender and delicate ; what was needed was something like
large hand-written letters, either in calligraphy, or in a type made
from hand-written characters. It is strange that Raffaelli didn't
feel this. Another thing: why a gouache on a cover that has to
be handled, why not inside? And instead, a woodcut the color of
shellac on the cover?
What do you think of all this? A really fine book must be as
much a work of art as a painting is. So there is still much work to
be done, a book like that, as far as I am concerned, has not yet been
made . . . this is just the beginning.
PARIS, MAY 26, 1891
My dear Lucien,
It's amazing what bad luck we have ! Everyone wants my work
. . . they press about my canvases from all sides, they know that
it is to these that they must turn, but they want to get them for
173
nothing. The collectors deliberate and do not buy . . . they hesitate !
What I need is a good exhibition, but where? At Durand's I get
all sorts of propositions, I get offers without even asking — but
they don't buy a thing. ... At Boussod & Valadon's they soft-soap
me and talk against Durand. If I go to Durand's they become
furious, and if I go to Boussod's, Durand is no more furious; in
short : neither will buy my work. If anyone else were available, I
would unhesitatingly turn to him, but there is nobody. I am most
perplexed. On top of all this I have no pictures and I am by no
means satisfied that my eye will give me no further trouble! But
I have courage aplenty. I redouble my efforts, but nothing results,
I must bide my time. Luck comes sometimes when you are sleeping!
— I have in me something which chills the enthusiasm of people —
they become frightened! They are, perhaps, instinctively right to
pause like mules in the mountains when they come abreast of some
obstacle invisible in the blackness. . . . But I am so full of courage
that I cannot but be confident; would that your mother shared my
confidence !
I regret being unable to send you an article by H. Fouquier on
Gauguin, which appeared in Le Figaro Sunday. What exaggera-
tion ! When one does not lack talent and is young into the bargain
how wrong it is to give oneself over to impostures ! How empty of
conviction are this representation, this decor, this painting!
PARIS, MAY 29, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I went to see M. Gallimard this morning. We had a long talk.
He has decided to engage you to do something, and he told me
that he is planning to go to London with Duret to discuss the
matter with you, on Duret's return from the Caucasus. He added :
I have made up my mind to engage your son to do something, but
I will have to work on it. — Geffroy strongly urged him to do this
book. I hope he will keep his word and not delay too long. M.
Gallimard is an indecisive fellow, although a man of good will.
174
ERAGNY, JUNE 10, 1891
My dear Lucien,
As soon as I got back here I went to work. I began three canvases
of about 36 x 28, 31 x 25 and 28 x 23 inches ; they are progressing
rapidly. One is even almost finished. It is not executed in "dots,"
which I have completely abandoned in order to accomplish the
division of pure tones without having to wait for the paint to dry;
this last had the disadvantage of weakening the sensation. I am
eminently satisfied, and I assure you the tones are quite as delicate,
express my sensations more freely and are more personal; I believe
my approach will vindicate itself. I had hoped to do some studies
from nature, but the weather is so wretched, so uncertain, that I
had to give this project up.
A few days ago I received a letter from Miss Cassatt, asking me
if I would like to give lessons to some young American girls. I
replied that she should send them to me but that I would take
nothing for advice. I still don't know what they have decided. I
didn't want to engage myself to give lessons, for I don't want to be
tied down. My eye may become aggravated without warning, and
I prefer to limit myself to simply giving advice, which, by the way,
is just as good.
ERAGNY, JUNE 18, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I shall write to Miss Cassatt and to Mme. Manet [Berthe
Morisot] about the matter of the "Panel Society." I wish I could
win them over, but I don't dare hope. You can't imagine how much
harm the young artists have done themselves by their desire to
advertise themselves. Degas spoke of this to me recently with
extraordinary vehemence, and he made no exceptions when he
expressed his hatred for people advertising themselves. Speaking
of Signac he became violent and poured out his spleen on every-
one ! It must be admitted that at one moment Signac behaved most
imprudently and should have held his tongue, — it was the pre-
sumptuousness of youth. I am certain that he will never act like
that again, but the great pity is that men of real worth now can't
be counted on to join organizations. There's too much distrust.
175
The two engravings you sent me are excellent and in the right
style. Don't bother your head about those who can't understand
your type of drawing, let them put themselves in your shoes. Your
drawing is actually quite correct, when you have studied and
understood it — one step more and it will not be so ! Only keep your
personality intact! Each of us has his qualities and faults, the im-
portant thing is to have many qualities. Esther's vision is too
narrow. She has a certain sentimentality which can influence a
young artist to go counter to his own judgment. The pretty is a
greater pitfall than the ugly or the grotesque! This is why men
of merit are so rarely understood from the start. Everyone knows
this, yet commits this error!
We had a lot of trouble with Georges and Titi a few days ago.
It was not their fault — this time. They just missed being murdered
— literally! at a torchlight parade in Gisors towards midnight, a
band of ruffians from La Societe de Gymnastique which was to
meet there the next day, precipitated themselves, drunk and
spurred on by a lad from Eragny, on Titi and Georges. Without
the intervention of a man of Herculean strength they would have
been beaten to death. They managed to escape, losing their hats,
but what is more serious, the lad from Eragny went through
Georges' pockets while others were holding him by the throat, and
stole his pistol. Luckily he took Georges' knife — doubtless because
it was attached to a chain — for a watch; except for this circum-
stance he would have gotten the watch, for he detached the knife
and chain. In short the boys returned in a sorry condition. Fortu-
nately they suffered no serious hurt. Titi caught a kick below the
knee-cap, on the shin-bone, which is still painful. What can we do?
make a complaint? These patriots were all drunk! We would have
to get witnesses, go to Evreux, and then what? No, the best thing
for them to do is to keep apart, or, if indeed they go to such a
celebration, to go in force. Such things are always happening to
the two boys. But there is no preventing boys from fighting.
ERAGNY, JUNE 23, 1891
My dear Lucie n,
I received your letter of June 21, with the list of the prints
which were sold to M. Kennedy. It is 300 francs you can keep. So
176
34. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of the Artist's niece Nini, about 1884.
35. — C. Pissarro: Peasant Girl Sitting, about 1885.
then there are three American dealers who have my engravings,
the three biggest dealers! Avery, Keppel and Kennedy. Keppel
assured me last year that he would not sell any of them, that in
America my work was not understood at all. . . . But how comes it
that Kennedy wants my things, surely it is not out of his apprecia-
tion of them? . . . Mysterious.
When painting tires me, I shall work at watercolors and engrav-
ing. I hope to do a series of Markets, another of Troyes and
Chdtillon-sur-Seine, etc. Legros has made some remarkable etch-
ings, particularly his early ones, but those I saw at his exhibition
here are too reminiscent of Rembrandt and others. Just the same
they are quite strong. The drawings in silver point, as I see it,
lacked originality and were often academic. How I prefer the
drawings of Degas!
Titi has painted some rough sketches, not bad, not in "dots,"
of course ; the dot prevents one's seeing the variety in values. I
urge you to consider this carefully.
ERAGNY, JUNE 28, 1891
My dear Lucien,
If you can spend the holidays with us — that would be perfect.
We all have so much to tell each other.
I am glad to hear that you have seen Benezit. He is a charming
young man, full of good will and very intelligent, but alas! as is so
common, he hasn't the shadow of a notion of what distinguishes
true from false art. Unfortunately he imbibed the principles of
Ch. Jacques, he is impregnated with that art false for all time, my
dear Lucien, for the art of 1830 is that of Corot, Courbet, Dela-
croix, Ingres. And it is eternally beautiful! As a matter of fact I
execrated Ch. Jacques even in my youth. At that time he was
ranked above Millet. Believe me, I broke many a lance on this
question, but I must admit that my adversaries were not very
formidable, they were quite timid!
I am sure that Benezit is making an honest attempt to under-
stand this but by certain signs I have come to realize that he is not
capable of seeing the art in drawing, in the drawing itself.
177
JUNE 30, 1891
This morning I received a charrning letter from Mme. Manet
[Berthe Morisot] informing me that in principle she would be
delighted to join the "Panel Society" the moment that I do.
Naturally she is waiting for the program, which you are to send
her and which will give her complete information about this
group. I answered that you and I belong to the society although I
have not yet received any official notification. I have not yet re-
ceived Miss Cassatt's reply; I am not at all certain about her, she
has fixed ideas about this.
I will send you UEcho de Paris with an article by Mirbeau and
an interview with Charles Henry, who gives his views on litera-
ture. Charles Henry has a most curious notion. He thinks that the
future will be dominated by mysticism. It is strange that not one
of the young men understands that it represents not the future but
backwardness . . . for the future that will bring the abolition of
capital and property will be so different that it is impossible to
imagine what the ideal of that time will be, at least we cannot
plumb its depths with our myopic vision.
I have just looked at all your woodcuts. I am sure that you your-
self don't suspect how artistic they are!
ERAGNY, JULY 7, 1891
My dear Lucien,
The day before yesterday I received a letter from Miss Cassatt
announcing that she and her family had rented a castle near
Chaumont-en-Vexin. She wants me to explain about the "Panel
Society." She writes that such a society can accomplish nothing
in England, where there is no future for engraving, and that she
has at the present moment a whole series of colored aquatints at
Dowdeswell's — they were sent by Durand — which are having no
success, are not even spoken of. — I urge you to go and see them
with your friends, I believe you will find them most interesting. I
tried, in replying, to make her understand that she could not ex-
pect to find appreciation at Dowdeswell's and that what was
necessary was to reach the artistic milieu which is to London what
the impressionists were [to Paris] in their time. I have done my
best to convince her. Will I succeed? I must wait and see. Don't
178
you think it would be a good idea to speak of this to Degas? But
one can hardly count on him ... he is so utterly disgusted with
youth! As I see it, his attitude is — well — somewhat exaggerated!
Miss Cassatt is getting ready to organize a general exhibition of
her works in New York. She has surely every chance of being a
great success there, for she knows the people and the situation so
well.
ERAGNY, JULY 8, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter this morning. — Yes, my dear Lucien, I
recognized at once the sentimental and Christian tendency in your
crowned figure [Sister of the Woods] , it was not the drawing, but
the attitude, the character, the expression, the general physiog-
nomy. I know that your first plan was conventional as compared
with your last. But the figure itself is conventional in relation to
your art. — There is not only this jarring note, but also, I insist,
a sentimental element characteristically English and quite Chris-
tian, an element found in many of the Pre-Raphaelites . . . and
elsewhere. As for the idea, my son, there are hundreds of ideas in
your other engravings, which belong to you, anarchist and lover
of nature, to the Lucien who reserves the great ideal for a better
time when man, having achieved another mode of life, will under-
stand the beautiful differently. In short, sentimentalism is a
tendency for Gauguin, not as a style, but as an idea. Scorn com-
pliments !
Proudhon says in La Justice that love of earth is linked with
revolution, and consequently with the artistic ideal. — That is why
we do not care for Crane, he is not conscious of what he should
admire in art. Contradiction! Yes, one's work is cut out for one
in that milieu, but one has to find one's style elsewhere and im-
pose it and make the reasons for it clearly understood. For this, a
certain authority is necessary — but haven't we Degas and all the
impressionists? We have taken the right path, the logically neces-
sary path, and it will lead us to the ideal, at least that is how it
appears to me.
I am at this moment reading J. P. Proudhon. He is in complete
agreement with our ideas. His book La Justice dans la Revolu-
tion must be read from beginning to end. If you had an oppor-
179
tunity to study it you would understand that those who follow the
new tendency are influenced by bourgeois reaction. Look how the
bourgeois woo the workers! Isn't everybody socialist, hasn't even
the Pope fallen into line? Reaction! The purpose behind all this,
my dear boy, is to check the movement, which is beginning to
define itself 3 so we must be suspicious of those who under the
pretext of working for socialism, idealist art, pure art, etc., etc.,
actually support a false tendency, a tendency a thousand times
false, even though, perhaps, it answers the need of certain types of
people, but not our needs; we have to form a totally different ideal!
Paul Adam, Aurier and all the young writers are in this counter-
revolutionary movement, unconsciously, I am almost sure, or per-
haps out of weakness . . . and for all that they believe they are
doing something new! Fortunately the revolution that raised the
problem has seen many other things. I hope a first-rate mind will
be discovered. How beautifully Gustave Kahn might have filled
this lack; but it is impossible, he does not believe in the Justice
inherent in man. So much the worse for them, they too will pass!
My dear boy, it is amazing how contemporary this book on
Justice is. Every young man ought to read it, while disregarding
certain passages in which the author argues that the good society
can be achieved by means of an almost state organization — but
this is no great matter.
ERAGNY, JULY 14, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Just when I least expected it, just when I was fully at work,
this cursed eye trouble came back. I was working in our field in
superb weather, there came a sudden wind — or maybe it was a
puff of dust — and in two days an abscess had formed and broken.
Once again I must spend two wearisome weeks in Paris. I didn't
deserve this — I expected to be able to work until autumn at least.
At Durand's, Renoir is exhibiting at this moment his pictures
of 1890—91. They do not seem to be creating any great sensation.
It is true that the exhibition is being held in the small rooms, the
main room is showing the works of Americans.
I am sending you UArt dans les Deux Mondes, the final issue,
it is being discontinued. You will see from the article "Causerie"
that the review's purpose was to put the impressionists over, and
180
since this objective has been attained, there is no reason for it to
continue. Hum! hum! Does this mean that it is without funds?
You never know what's up with that devil of a Durand. I learned
lately, in Paris, that Durand had to take back a number of paint-
ings sold for a considerable sum to a collector who went bankrupt.
Is this the case? Mysterious! It might explain his attitude towards
me. And it seems, at least that is what Miss Cassatt says, that
Renoir, all of whose work he takes, is very annoyed and has to
make pictures which please!
PARIS, JULY 17, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Luce came this morning. He had news of our friends : Signac is
at Concarneau, Aj albert is in Auvergne, Paul Adam is leaving for
Egypt, on a pleasure trip, I believe, Gustave Kahn arrived in Paris
under circumstances as comical as they are extraordinary to any-
one who knows Kahn well. It seems (his wife probably had a lot
to do with this) that he came to investigate why the friends and
associates of Seurat received those little panels and drawings of
that ill-starred fellow from Madame Seurat. Suspicions of trick-
ery and swindling have been voiced. Feneon, Luce and Signac
simply wrote him breaking off relations. It is sad to see this poet,
poor fellow, making a fool of himself before everyone. The first
chance I get, I will try to make him realize how foolish he has
been. Naturally I support my friends Luce, Signac, Feneon. Hav-
ing been here ever since the distribution [of Seurat's drawings and
panels] took place, I can testify that everything was done in a
strictly legal and correct manner.
PARIS, JULY 21, 1891
My dear Lucien,
The affair of the panels is simply idiotic : Seurat's mistress *
went to Belgium and voiced all sorts of suspicions to Madame
1 'Even Seurat's most intimate friends, during the painter's life, knew nothing of
Madeleine Knobloch and the child she had borne Seurat. (The infant died shortly-
after his father). Madeleine Knobloch had asked Felix Feneon to represent her at the
formal division of Seurat's works between her and his family and had received part
of the painter's works.
181
Kahn. The latter sided with her and must have urged Kahn and
his alter ego, the Belgian painter Lemmen, to come to Paris and
make an investigation. Poor Kahn was enmeshed in this stupid
intrigue, which has resulted in a rupture with Luce, Signac and
Fen^on. It seems that later Lemmen wrote Signac a letter of
apology. I must add that the mistress of poor Seurat is if not mis-
chievous, certainly without brains.
PARIS, JULY 28, 1891
My dear Lucient
Thursday I will see the doctor and if everything goes well I will
return to Eragny at the end of the week. I can take off the bandage,
stay indoors with the windows closed and work. This is what I am
longing to do. Things are not too bad at the moment.
So I will be in Eragny if you come during the first week of
August.
After spending some time with his family in Eragny, Lucien
left for London early in October, taking with him his brother
Georges. Octave Mirbeau gave them a letter of introduction to
John Singer Sargent.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 4, 1891
My dear sons,
I received your card and your two letters. We were glad to
hear that you had such a good crossing. Now you are gone, I hope
things will develop to your satisfaction.
Mirbeau sent me the letter that Mr. Sargent wrote to him. He
[Sargent] wrote that the description of the two Pissarros had given
him a great desire to make your acquaintance. Perhaps Mr. Sar-
gent could get you some pupils, that would be a great help.
I am waiting for mother to finish Maeterlinck's Les Aveugles^
it is quite short, a fine little book. It is very dramatic, simple, cold,
182
terrible and very modern, and besides, full of motifs. It has much
in common with the etchings you have made. It should be read
carefully, scene by scene.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 6, 1891
My dear Lucien,
We received this morning your letter announcing that you have
found a studio. So you will soon be settled.
What you say about Sargent doesn't surprise me; Monet had
told me that he is very kind. As for his painting, that, of course,
we can't approve of; he is not an enthusiast but rather an adroit
performer, and it was not for his painting that Mirbeau wanted
you to meet him. He is a man who can be very useful, and I hope
that when the time comes he will put himself at your service.
Have you informed him that you are giving drawing and painting
lessons?
There is an article in today's Eclair which I will send you.
Arsene Alexandre berates the directors of the Luxembourg asking
by what right they refuse to buy the work of painters whom all
the art critics recognize as gifted and who sell their paintings to
collectors less stupid than the said directors. — For thirty years now
I have heard such complaints! But they remain unmoved, the
bureaucratists !
PARIS, OCTOBER 19, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I am not surprised that Kahn now regrets what happened.
Yesterday I went to see M. Cheramy. He was most charming.
He showed me around his gallery, which is a jumble of every sort
of thing : superb Delacroix sketches, among others an astonishing
and strange Paganini, some early studies by Corot, some drawings
by the same, studies by Ingres, Degas, Manet, Tassaert, GeYicault
— all these wonders besides a quantity of artistically valueless
things. A selection has to be made from all these. M. Cheramy told
me that he wanted something of mine and that he would go to
Portier's to look at my work. — He went to Durand-Ruel's to look
185
at my paintings, he saw a fan, but it seems Durand asked so
much for it that he didn't buy it.
Just this moment a letter came from Mirbeau thanking me for
The Goose Girl [770] and the drawing Young Peasant Woman
Making Up. Mirbeau, good fellow, is completely enthusiastic, and
I am only too delighted to be able to give him pleasure. He says
that you have written him. He has again written to Sargent about
you. He is convinced that Sargent can be a great help to you. Both
of you have the necessary gifts to achieve something.
Forward, and be of good courage, my friends. I believe your
debut is more promising than mine; I still cannot come to the
end of my tether, and I have the sad burden of being unable to
make your mother happier . . . No luck!
PARIS, OCTOBER 23, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I expect to make some ten or twelve thousand francs this year.
And if the money is forthcoming as speedily as I expect, we can
set you up in London. What do you think of that? I should like
that better than having to depend on strangers. But I don't believe
I can count on Durand-Ruel this year, he will need a lot of capital
to buy Jongkinds, the prices of which rise like the tide. They are
buying whatever they can find, everyone is buying, so the pictures
go to the highest bidder. What I must do is pave the way with my
little Parisian buyers who, by purchasing Pissarros, will help me
get more for my works; I sense a tendency in that direction. I will
increase my price bit by bit while there is still time; the little
collectors can be a big help in this. What do you think? So let us
be hopeful!
I didn't mention that I am thinking of moving from Eragny
next spring. I wrote to Dallemagne about repairs. He has not re-
plied. I will send him a registered letter requesting a cancellation
of our lease, but only when I have found just what I want at
Pontoise or Lagny, etc.
184
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 5, 1891
My dear Lucien,
It's a pity you weren't able to go to Birmingham to see the
assembled masters of Pre-Raphaelism. It is indeed surprising that
the provinces in England are more sympathetic to innovators — it
is just the opposite in France where the provinces are so bourgeois
and pusillanimous. But it must be admitted that this is natural,
since the provinces here are without any initiative, political or
artistic j this is centralization in all its splendor!
The compliments you paid Titi for his etchings have really
moved him and renewed his zest for work. He is going to under-
take a portrait of Piton-Fleuri in oils.
No more news, except that we are in a state of perfect calm . . .
not a cry . . . not a breath . . . other than the autumn breeze or
the snort of the stove.1 And my work is going well; it is with
ecstasy that I toil and drudge at my four canvases. — Your mother
has informed me that she will be gone for a month or two. I hope
she will enjoy her vacation, she really needed it. I know only too
well that it is not very gay to be here and never go out or see a
living soul except pere Kimir and mere Fieu; that's not very
much . . . and not very diverting !
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 13, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I am working furiously, my canvases seem to be progressing.
Cowherdess [823] is well advanced, as is Peasant Woman Dream-
ing [824], I am well satisfied with them, but the last stroke is the
most difficult and takes longest! I have also gone back to my Two
Women in a Farmyard? one of whom holds a bucket of water ; this
work should be sensational. ... I am also at work on three small
canvases which are simmering, but for all this work there is still
no money.
1 Mme. Pissarro had just left for Paris with Jeanne and Paul-Emile, her two young-
est children.
*No doubt a reference to the gouache Peasant Women Talking [1410] dated 1887.
185
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 18, 1891
My dear Lucien,
For the moment we are short of money, very short, and I have
received from Portier, who was so encouraging, a despairing letter
to the effect that he is unable to sell my small canvases, which his
collectors don't like at all!
I have received a very charming letter from Mirbeau. He urges
me to give him a free hand so that he can persuade M. Roujon, his
old friend and the new director of Fine Arts replacing Laroumet,
to buy something of mine for the Luxembourg. If this comes off,
which do you think I should sell, Apple-Eaters [696] or Woman
Breaking Wood [722] ? To tell the truth, I haven't the remotest
idea how either of these two paintings, especially the second, will
look when hung at the museum.1 Mirbeau also mentioned that he
had seen Rodin in Paris and that they had discussed me; it seems
that Rodin is a warm admirer of my work and would like to
have something. He wants to purchase something and leaves it to
me to select whatever I like best. So I am really perplexed, finding
my own work atrocious, understanding, as I do, how right Portier's
collectors are, even though I rage against them.
Miss Cassatt writes that she will visit me tomorrow with an
American friend who wants to speak to me about taking lessons.
I wrote her to come for lunch . . . and your mother has been
away for sixteen days . . . never mind, we shall do what we can.
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 25, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Your mother returned from Paris last night. Guingasse and
Cocotte quickly resumed their antics. We can hear them squalling
in the garden. . . . Everything was really too peaceful here.
— Not having received a word — or a cent either — from Portier,
I wrote him to send my Setting Sun, Effect of Fog, to Rodin.
1 Despite Mirbeau's insistence, M. Roujon did not purchase a canvas of Pissarro for
the state. Later he also refused to propose Cdzanne for the Legion of Honor, as
Mirbeau demanded.
186
NOVEMBER 29, 1891
I have agreed to stop for Mirbeau at Damps and go with him
to the performance of Les Aveugles. I will dine (it is a matinee)
with Geffroy, Rodin and Mirbeau. Which reminds me : I received
a charming letter from Rodin mentioning, among other things,
that he can meet my price for my Landscape with Effect of Fog,
which he finds splendid. It is 500 francs for this canvas of about
25 x 21 inches. I will send you a little money as soon as I can.
PARIS, DECEMBER 6, 1891
My dear children,
In a letter to Mirbeau I mentioned that Georges would like to
illustrate Maeterlinck's Princesse Maleine. Now this is my advice
to Georges, I have tried what I recommend, it is worth following :
when you feel the impulse to make something, do it no matter
what the cost . . . you can be sure of reward. So rare a thing is it
to have a desire that it is one's duty to act on it, and at once, for
desire evaporates if one delays. Forward, go to it! Be advised, act!
That is the most practical course one can take.
. . . the more I try, the more they dodge. But I feel I am better
than many of the others. It is hard to sell right now : there will be
an auction of Jongkind's studio tomorrow, that will be a mad rush!
They will fight to get his works! ... Of course, he is dead now!
PARIS, DECEMBER 8, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I lunched with Rodin yesterday. He has real charm. During our
conversation he asked if I would like to see the Goncourt collection;
he promised to write me a note of introduction to the eminent
novelist. Shall I go? . . . People have such peculiar ideas about me.
Yesterday the auction of Jongkind took place. His watercolors
are marvels, and since the artists pronounced them first rate, the
collectors came to bid for them more than for the oil paintings. —
That's all they talk about. The strange thing is that they could
have been gotten quite cheaply. Imagine, little Meyer, "the Ball,"
187
had enough cleverness to buy one before the auction . . . not very
bold, the Ball, as I told him. Now it is too late.
PARIS, DECEMBER 9, 1891
My dear Lucien,
With my last letter I sent you a word from a dealer on the rue
Lepelletier.1 1 just visited his place. He would like to know whether
you would be willing to have him handle your canvases. Write me
if this is agreeable to you. You can already include in his catalogue
what you will have ready later. There will be Anquetin, Lautrec,
Sisley, Luce, Gausson; and probably Paillard, Gauguin, Schuf-
fenecker, Bernard, Serusier, etc. I think it can't be too bad to
participate. Write me what you think in this regard.
Monet has been in London since yesterday. He probably went
there to work. Everyone is awaiting with impatience his series of
London impressions. He lives quite far behind Regent's Park, at
the home of M. Harvley, 60 Curzon Street, May fair. Most likely
he is with friends, and perhaps it would be awkward if you went
to see him. Joyant, of Boussod & Valadon, gave me this news.
Joy ant asked me for some pictures. He is waiting for me to go
to Eragny to visit me there. He said he wanted to buy old and new
works, between 1,500 and 2,000 francs' worth. I replied that he
couldn't expect to get very much for so little money, that I sold
my earlier work at high prices ; he said he would take old and new
things, that the moment to launch me had arrived, and he begged
me to deal with his house. No one could have been friendlier, my
dear. There's something behind this. It must be that the auction
of Jongkind put an idea in his head. 300,000 francs were taken
in on the first day, 100,000 on the second.
Durand is away. I have to see what he will do. Joyant asked me
to give him preference if I hold an exhibition, but the gallery is so
small. — Finally, I believe our troubles are coming to an end, and
then, you won't have to worry. I hope, if everything goes well, to
come to London for a watercolor campaign! Well, we shall see!
Your mother will go to the performance Friday. You should
see her, she is astonishing, you would not recognize her with her
1 A reference to the dealer he Bare de Boutteville who at that time had begun to
push young artists like Vincent van Gogh, Bonnard, Lautrec, Signac, etc.
188
black velvet coat, stylish hat, and binoculars . . . it's nothing short
of a resurrection! If she knew what I am writing about her she
would be angry. And with that she had two great baskets when
she came to Montmartre !
PARIS, DECEMBER 13, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I have reason to be a little more confident of the future $ several
signs indicate this, as you will see.
I went with your mother and the Mirbeaus to the performance
of Les Aveugles and a little scene by Laforgue; both works were
miserably acted. There was quite a crowd, everyone in art was
there. During an intermission Carriere came over to shake hands
and said bluntly :
"I come to apprise you that you have had much success in New
York and that presently you will receive offers. I think I ought to
let you know, so that you won't be taken by surprise."
I told him that I had suspected as much since the clerk at Bous-
sod & Valadon had been so insistent that I go to see him. Following
this, Joyant asked if he could come to Eragny. Another proof :
Bernheim, of the rue Laffitte, bought four panels at auction . . .
These works, framed superbly, were shown in the window and
made a sensation. Everybody spoke of them to me. Yesterday Bern-
heim said to me :
"At the first auction including some of your paintings, you will
find five or six dealers ready to bid at high prices, and if you want
I will organize a show for you. Your moment has come!"
With regard to the exhibition, there has been a change.1 You
must understand that I am on the point of a definitive success.
This is understood by everyone interested in my work. It goes with-
out saying that if I have a show, I must exhibit alone and under
first class conditions. I have been invited to show in three places :
Durand's, Boussod & Valadon's and Bernheim- Jeune's. Most likely
I will decide for Durand. You realize, of course, that a modest
show along with other artists does not correspond to what those
1 Camille Pissarro had intended to have his next exhibition with his two eldest sons,
Lucien and Fe"lix, but now decided otherwise.
189
who are interested in me expect. I must make my way. I must
get through while the favorable moment lasts.
PARIS, DECEMBER 14, 1891
My dear Lucien,
i
Joyant told me today that he would come to Eragny on Tuesday.
In the course of our conversation he told me — but this is in con-
fidence (if you see Monet, don't speak of this to him) — he told
me that he was going to organize a general exhibition of Renoir's
work! While Durand was hiding Renoir's light under a bushel,
he [Joyant], would show it to the world. Joyant begged me not
to breathe a word of this. . . . Can you imagine what a state
Durand would be in? Why the devil did Joyant tell me this?
Durand will return from Austria shortly. Today, Joseph
Durand remarked to me as we parted, that as soon as his father
got back he would come to Eragny.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 16, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I believe I will decide to show at Durand's, he has the largest
rooms to exhibit in. The Boussod & Valadon Gallery is really too
small. And it is to my interest to humor Durand, I am not strong
enough to buck him. Boussod & Valadon are going to have a new
place on the boulevard des Capucines or around the Madeleine j
then we may try to do something for them. — For one thing, you
will have to come and help me with my exhibition. I need you to
assist me in making a correct choice of paintings and to help me
hang them. As for selling my canvases, that will come in due
course if the dealer thinks it necessary. We shall see.
I spoke to Mirbeau about La Princesse Maleine, he is attending
to it. It can be easily arranged with Maeterlinck, who will be only
too pleased; unfortunately this splendid fellow has permitted him-
self to be exploited by a publisher who has him by the throat. The
poet never dreamed his work would be so successful when he im-
prudently undertook to turn over all his output for a bagatelle.
190
I always omit mentioning that Guillaumin has just won 100,-
000 francs in the city lottery.1 Amazing!
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 23, 1891
My dear Lucien,
Show Mr. Reid my etchings ; you have the prices. The fans
bring — at least that is what dealers here pay for them — 300
francs. Perhaps we should ask 400 francs for them in London in
order to get 300. // you can't get more, 300 francs. In any case
you can let people know that my prices are on the rise, and do the
best you can.
Joyant came yesterday, he was enthusiastic about my water-
colors and my latest paintings, but they are too revolutionary for
his boss. He put six canvases aside, which I am to send him to show
his boss. He told me that two or three will be taken for certain.
These are the ones :
Blossoming Apple Tree with Hill of Bazincourt 1,000 francs
Setting Sun, seen from my Window 1,000 francs
Sente de la Justice at Pontoise 1,200 francs
Landscape (in height h) of Pontoise 1,200 francs
Landscape : Delafolie Mansion 600 francs
Hampton Court Green [746] 800 francs
I may lower the prices of the new canvases, I will maintain the
prices of the earlier things, or perhaps increase them.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 26, 1891
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter this morning, which shows some dis-
couragement since you did not succeed with Reid, of whom, by
the way, I did not have any excessive hopes. This is the man who
sold Monticellis at such high prices in Glasgow. For four or five
years he has appeared to want to take the impressionists in hand $ at
the time of poor Vincent van Gogh, he was contemplating this
1 Thanks to this unexpected fortune, Armand Guillaumin was at last able to quit
his administrative post in Paris and devote himself entirely to painting.
191
project; it came to nothing. Theo van Gogh did not regard his
judgment of art very highly, and finally they had a falling out.
Did I let you know that M. Cheramy has bought a fan from
Durand and paid 850 francs? He told me he would have liked to
acquire for 2,500 francs one of the panel-friezes at Bernheim's,
but it was too large. The said Bernheim told me that the panels
were a great success, little Meyer also told me that.1
We are having wonderful weather, these days . . . dry cold,
hoar-frost and radiant sunlight. I have begun a series of studies
from my window, canvases of about 18 x 15, 25 x 21 and 56 x 28
inches. It is extraordinary how certain I am of my execution,
which is now much easier. If I finish them I will have a beautiful
series of Bazincourt paintings. I was afraid that repetition of the
same motif would be tiring, but the effects are so varied that every-
thing is completely transformed, and then the compositions and
angles are so different.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 29, 1891
My dear Lucien,
We were visited yesterday by the three American ladies sent by
Miss Cassatt; they wanted to find lodging at Eragny so as to be
near me and receive my advice. — Too bad such aerolites don't
drop on you from the sky in London. Unfortunately they couldn't
find a place either here or in Bazincourt. This makes four, with
the one who came last time with Miss Cassatt. You see, there will
be a colony, soon!
Thank you for your good wishes; I want to succeed for you all.
But what I wish for both of you is first of all good health, courage,
confidence in yourselves and love of what is beautiful, good and
just!
1 See Camille Pissarro,s letter of May 9, 1891. These panels had been purchased
several months before at the Arosa auction for 27 5 francs each.
192
36. — C. Pissarro: Peasant Girl, about 1885.
37. — C. Pissarro: Little Peasant Girl, about 1885.
1892
ERAGNY, JANUARY 10, 1892
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday I had Joseph Durand at the house, he came with his
friend Mellerio, a young art critic. They were delighted with
what they saw. The young Durand informed me that his father
was expecting to come out here any day to reach an agreement
with me about holding a general show of my work 5 this would
have to take place from the 25th of January, before the exhibition
organized by the Sar Peladan,1 which will cause such a tumult in
the press that anything coming after it will be an anti-climax. It
has to be the 25th or not at all . . . as you realize, no doubt, I am
caught napping} I have only ten days in which to finish from
five to six canvases begun from the window, and my figure paint-
ings. If my eye does not betray me, I will be ready. As soon as I
see Durand senior, I will write you to come, there will be so much
to do and I would like to work until the last moment. And then
I'll have to select canvases of different periods and go hunting for
them or asking collectors. Let us hope that something will come of
this and that we won't be disappointed this time.
1 The "Stir" Piladan, an eccentric figure, an idealist and spiritualist writer, defender
of a dead aesthetic borrowed partly from Dante and Leonardo, had founded L'Ordre
de la Rose-Croix Catholique with the aim of renewing art through mysticism. The first
exhibition of this Ordre opened on March 10, 1892, at Durand-RueVs. It had consider-
able success, but none of the painters belonging to the group is remembered in the
history of art.
193
ERAGNY, JANUARY 13, 1892
My dear Lucien,
It is decided, the exhibition is to run from January 25 to Febru-
ary 20. This morning I received a letter from Joseph Durand
asking me to get ready, his father is still in London but will re-
turn to make all the arrangements. I don't know whether he will
have time to come to Eragny — but in any case you must come as
soon as you can. I need you to make expeditions to the collectors.
Everything else is going well.
I sent Durand the list of my pictures, twenty-five canvases,
with the dimensions, so that he can arrange for having them
framed.
PARIS, FEBRUARY 7, 1892
My dear Lucien,
Always a crowd at my exhibition. I sold my little Sunset, the
one I did from my window. With the three other canvases sold,
that makes 5,200 francs. The sale is not extraordinary, the col-
lectors seem to be hesitating ; I hope the Americans give the whip-
hand later.
Lucien returned to London at the beginning of April, after the
closing of his father's exhibition, which had comprised fifty can-
vases painted between 1870 and 1892 as well as twenty -one
gouaches executed between 1880 and 1890. The foreword to the
catalogue had been written by Georges Lecomte.
ERAGNY, APRIL 17, 1892
My dear Lucien,
I really have no luck with this weather; I have had to put off
my trip to Beauvais till later. I began a series of paintings outdoors
and I have still to finish them, but there is rain, wind, snow and
194
frost! I hope I don't make my excursion distasteful by pining for
the sun. The day after you left I received a line from Eugene
Manet to the effect that if I was still of a mind to take a trip to
Touraine he would be happy to accompany me 5 his doctor had
recommended a mild climate, he was looking for a good place. It is
nine days since that letter came ; the day before yesterday I heard
of his death. Now all the Manets are gone! — the poor fellow didn't
know his end was so near.
I supposed that this exhibition of Whistler would show his new
works. It's strange that he doesn't want to show his new canvases.
Perhaps he hasn't any ! For years now I have seen the same works
again and again, even very early works! . . . Why? . . .
ERAGNY, APRIL 26, 1892
My dear Lucien,
Yes, certainly, I should have lost time by going with you. I
have been able to do here several good oil studies of spring and
to complete my Cowherdess [823] and my Woman Sitting [824]
and my London Park, Primrose Hill [804] , I think these represent
an advance in unity. How different they are from the studies! I
am more than ever for the impression through memory, it renders
less of the object — vulgarity disappears, leaving only the undula-
tions of the truth that was glimpsed, felt. No need to say that this
is not understood, and my anxiety about the future continues as
before, despite the success of the exhibition. I have had no news
from Paris about my collectors : can it be they are paralyzed with
fear of dynamiters? That is quite possible.1 ... As soon as I have
finished my studies of spring and the little studio is ready, I will
write to my collector the abbe Gauguin to come and see my new
things.
Someone sent me — I don't know who — Kropotkin's book. I am
sending it to you. I am also sending you La Revoke? which will
enable you to see the recent events in a new light. Pouget and
Grave have been arrested in the general sweep that was made of
1 A reference to anarchist activities and to the trial of the anarchist Ravachol which
then occupied the attention of the public.
* An anarchist newspaper edited by Jean Grave, who also published Le Pere Peinard,
in which drawings by Lucien and Felix Pissarro appeared from time to time.
195
all the comrades in the name of laws which even the bourgeois
newspapers are beginning to regard as ill advised. The Republic,
of course, defends its capitalists, that is understandable. It is easy
to see that a real revolution is about to break out — it threatens on
every side. Ideas don't stop!
About the cream and blue cloth of which you spoke, your
mother says that it won't last, I think it would be wiser to get a
material better than the kind used in the children's room and to
use the oriental cloth for curtains in the little studio. These oriental
cloths harmonize very well with my paintings, described as
"screaming" by certain critics. The little studio is ready; after it
is thoroughly cleaned we will begin hanging. But what is the good
of it? Who the devil will see my "shouting" pictures, as a certain
Andrei * of La France Nouvelle calls them? Couldn't that be a
pseudonym?
ERAGNY, MAY 8, 1892
My dear Lucien,
Let us talk of things that are essential, and that, considering
your character, must be spoken of. — Your engravings are accepted
everywhere, that is certain; you have the beginnings of a fame
that is not based on mine; that is the point. — When one has suc-
ceeded so well with engraving, one is expected to reach the same
heights in other branches of art. People do not like change, a gent
who takes the liberty of operating outside established boundaries
has to win his rightful place all over again. You see what is hap-
pening around us — note that people have become so intellectually
debased that even those who are with us take the same stupid atti-
tude!— They are incapable of discerning the real quality that is
equally in your engravings and the other things you do. You are a
naive, a rough workmen, you have a style all your own, you have
only to follow your bent, to perfect the material, make it beautiful.
Useless to ask for adroitness, that will come some day, and besides
1 A reference to an article by A. Andrdi which appeared on February 23, 1892,
during Pissarro's exhibition and which contained this passage: UM. Camille Pissarro
has a peculiar vision of nature. He sees blue, red and yellow; with these three colors
he plays with the mastership of unconsciousness, the boldness of an apostle, the vir-
tuosity of a man inspired, and sometimes achieves astonishing effects, clamorous sym-
phonies, and even harmonies full of charm."
196
beauty does not lie in that. Yes, you answer me, but how earn
money? That's a matter of commercial talent, inherent in the
individual. ... To be ingratiating, stealthy, to hold the reins
secretly all the time and direct all movements like an expert coach-
man— or to have a good fairy watching out for your success . . .
luck! Hence you should not despair. — You have to get a grip on
yourself and look at things more calmly, without too many
anxieties.
You are right, the bulk of the poor do not understand the
anarchists 5 however, there is no use pretending, if people are in
a funk it means that they sense that they are faulty. Have you
read the interview with Zola? While terming the anarchists ideol-
ogists, Utopians, he takes a stand for a fight with logical methods,
demonstrating the absurdity of the anti-scientific theory. That's
running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. So the people
must free themselves by means of science. Quite an order, for when
men of science rule, it will not be less despotically because in the
name of science!
Titi has begun several studies, canvases of about 18x15 and
25 x 21 inches. They are going well, he has a really good eye; he
will be a painter, for in what he has done already he has shown a
personal touch. For my part, I have completed three canvases of
about 21 x 18 and 25 x 21 inches, which I shall take to Portier.
He asked for them, having sold my Shepherdess, a canvas about
21 x 18 inches, for 1,200 francs, and a little canvas about 16x13
inches, for 500 francs.
The little studio is all fixed, the canvases have been hung, it
looks very attractive. I will write abb£ Gauguin that I have some
new things to show him.
There's no doubt about it, I haven't time to go to Beauvais, the
weather is so changeable, and then, when alone, I lack peripatetic
initiative. However, I should welcome a change.
I am going to Paris October 1 2th. I am bringing Joyant a series
of thirty-six etchings.
PARIS, MAY 13, 1892
My dear Lucien,
This morning I ran into the painter Vidal who knows London
well. He advised me to exhibit in London, and with this in view he
197
gave me letters to Mr. Demthorne, 5 Vigo Street, Regent Street,
and for the painter Lionel Smithe, R.A. They are friends of his.
I can't elaborate about this right now, but he is convinced I wall
meet with success.
Yesterday I saw Renoir's exhibition. There are plenty of beauti-
ful things, but it is far from being as well arranged as mine; too
many canvases, much too many.
I think I will bring my painting equipment to London. Do you
think I will find it easy to work there?
PARIS, MAY 15, 1892
My dear Lucien,
As I mentioned to you yesterday, there's no sense in concealing
that I am going to London, why? All the more so since I have to
go anyway ; since it is altogether to my interest to go and prepare
the ground, I should have liked to go as soon as possible. When I
make up my mind, I don't like to let things drag. Joyant requests
me to let him be one of the first to see my pictures [of London] .
Durand likewise. Joyant wants me to exhibit at Thomson's; I told
him I would decide when I was there. Here is something curious
and which I didn't anticipate : he told me that contrary to the
predictions of the dealers, it is my new works which are most in
demand. Isn't that interesting? Needless to say, it is always the
same story with the dealers; Durand realizes it fully, and it is a
good thing for me! otherwise I would have been buried long ago.
So I have decided to do some very free and some very vigorous
things in London.
And now I would like to know how much equipment I will
have to take with me? I am not as strong as formerly — when I
carried bag and baggage with ease — I am beginning to fret at
burdens. Suppose I sent ahead my paints and canvases of 21 x 18
and 25 x 21 inches? Do you think that a good idea? For it would
be a real nuisance to bring these with me. Or do you think it would
be better to buy supplies in London? But canvases are not the same
sizes there. Write me what you think would be most practical.
I went to the exhibition at the Champ-de-Mars. Whistler has a
portrait, a marvel! There is a superb Puvis de Chavannes. For the
199
rest — nothing! Mirbeau right in Le Figaro cut Carolus * to pieces,
this has created a sensation, and Le Figaro has broken with Mir-
beau— they wouldn't publish his article on Renoir.
PARIS, MAY 17, 1892
My dear Lucien,
I shall do my utmost to leave by Monday the 25rd; the weather,
as you point out, is somewhat coldish, but it is not dangerous to my
eye. I have been working at Eragny in this sort of weather with-
out painful result.
Things have gone well. If I had sent in my latest paintings I
would have sold them, for Durand asked me whether I have been
working, and Joyant also. It is not a bad idea to make them wait a
little. The niece of old Martin, who is in charge of her late uncle's
affairs, asked me for pictures, she says they are in demand. She
also asked me whether you would send her something. I sent the
picture you gave me to Le Bare de Boutteville, who is holding an
exhibition of young artists ; it is very fine, very.
Lautrec, too, is leaving for London soon; perhaps we'll come on
the same train.
ERAGNY, MAY 20, 1892
My dear Lucien,
Things are going well with Portier. I took him, some days ago,
two canvases about 21 x 18 inches in size — he writes that he has
just sold them for 1,200 francs each, and asks me for more pic-
tures. I have none, for it is my latest works that are in demand,
strangely enough!
It seems that M. Dallemagne 2 is compelled to sell his house. Your
mother wants me to borrow in order to buy it; I am opposed. The
1 Mirbeau had had the courage to write of this portrait painter, then much in vogue:
"At bottom, M. Carolus Duran would be excellent as upholsterer. Is not this perhaps
the secret of his success? He does not paint women, he upholsters them, he does not
dress them, he decks them out. He hangs fabrics on them as on doors, he drapes them
like beds. . . . M. Carolus Duran disregards all that constitutes the human face. He is
ignorant of painting, for that matter, despite the extreme virtuosity he shows."
2 The owner of the house in which the Pissarros lived at Eragny.
199
moment we are beginning to sell does not seem to me the right
time to burden ourselves with a debt that will cause me anxiety,
and all to the end of remaining in Eragny, which I would like to
leave, which is too far from Paris, in a badly constructed house
which doesn't stand straight, and with a garden far too large for
your mother to tend and about which she has not failed to com-
plain often enough. No, it doesn't suit me. If we have to move,
you can come and help us.
PARIS, MAY 21, 1892
My dear Lucien,
I leave Monday morning on the 8 :22 train. I will arrive at
Victoria Station at five o'clock. I hope you will be at the station.
The weather is beautiful.
Contrary to the expressed wishes of her husband, Madame
Pissarro, anxious to remain in the house in which they had lived
for eight years, decided during Pissarro' s absence to visit Claude
Monet at Giverny and ask him to advance her the money she
needed to buy the house at public auction. When he learned that
she had taken this step, Camille Pissarro seconded her request in
a letter to Monet from London, dated June 8, 1892. The latter was
able to lend them the money they asked for, and the Pissarros be-
came the owners of the house they lived in at Eragny near Gisors.
1, GLOUCESTER TERRACE, KEW GREEN, KEW
[JUNE, 1892]
My dear Lucien,
I am glad to hear that you arrived safely.
Decidedly we have no luck. How is it, circumstances being as
they were, that Lionel didn't have the presence of mind to let the
house go to us for 15,000 francs? We will be penniless for some
200
time now, unless we can find some means of remedying the situa-
tion. If I didn't have to stay here to complete the paintings I began,
I would bestir myself to raise three or four thousand francs. Just
at this moment Portier is away, Luce informs me; he doesn't say
for how long. There are two canvases, about 18x15 inches in size,
which are for sale at 1,000 francs each. If he returns to Paris you
must bring him something. Then there is the abbe Gauguin who
wants two canvases. I have just about enough to tide me through
here, and I don't dare ask Durand. If Monet could send us some
Americans, you might do something with them. I have to decide
whether to leave Kew ( a pity) and I am at a loss.
I have sent Monet a temporary receipt.
I have sent your mother by registered letter the deed notarized
and signed by a solicitor. I hope it is in order.
On August 10, 1892, Lucien Pissarro married a young English
woman, Esther Bensusan, whom he had known for many years,
and then left with her on a honeymoon trip to Rouen.
ERAGNY, AUGUST 16, 1892
My dear Lucien,
Here I am at Eragny at last delighted to be with the family
and surrounded by my studies. I read the letter you sent your
mother announcing your departure for Rouen. I suppose you will
have not a few things to show your wife in that beautiful city,
although it is fast being ruined by horrible modern constructions.
Don't forget to show Esther the splendid view of Rouen from the
heights of Canteleu; it is so grand that I still regret not having
made a study of it. Naturally you will go to the heights of Bon
Secours. I hope that while you are there you remember to visit
Monet's brother at Deville. Have you given up traveling afoot? It
must be quite hot for Esther. Do enjoy yourselves while you are
there. When you are ready to come, drop me a line.
201
ERAGNY, AUGUST 19, 1892
My dear Lucien,
I want to urge you, since you are passing by Pont-de-1'Arche
with your wife, to call on Mirbeau. If you think it best, you might
let him know you are coming, or take a chance on his being in, in
any case you will have paid your respects. And while you are in
those parts, don't you think you should see Monet? But it is up to
you.
I wrote Monet that I was back and asked when I could see him.
I have not yet received his answer.
Mirbeau wrote me that he will visit me with Rodin, who will
spend several days with him. Naturally I told him how happy I
would be to receive this artist whom we admire. I must also in-
form Durand when I finish retouching my Kew Gardens [793—
803]. That will be soon — I am afraid they won't seem very sal-
able to him! I consider my Flood [786] much grander and more
beautiful from every point of view. And I find my studies of
spring first rate ! I expect to recoup at Mirbeau's.
Canteleu ! how marvelous it is ! Yes, I should love to visit it again
and I shall. The museum you admired is the one to which I used to
go when the weather didn't permit work outdoors. Is your wife
pleased with this beautiful city of Rouen, so old and so artistic?
But how hideous is the new part, what a slap in the face of the
bourgeoisie . . . what's the good, they are not aware of it and so
don't care !
LES DAMPS BY PONT-DE-L'ARCHE
SEPTEMBER 9, 1892 [FROM MIRBEAU'S]
My dear Lucien,
You must have read the letter I wrote your mother the day
before. I mentioned that I went to work at once; the motifs are
superb, as you know, of course. I made progress until yesterday
when the strong wind kept me indoors.
Work, seek and don't give way too much to other concerns, and
it will come. But persistence, will and free sensations are necessary,
one must be undetermined by anything but one's own sensation.
I have begun four landscapes which seem to me superb in
202
motifs and effects, with hills in the background [806-809] . I don't
know how they will develop.
P.S. Portier wants to know if he can go to Eragny and select
two or three things. I said he could and asked him to let you know
in advance. Show him the Kew Garden paintings, though, as I
wrote him, they are too dear for his clients : 2,000 for the canvases
21 x 18 inches, 3,000 for those 25 x 21 inches.
LES DAMPS BY PONT-DE-L'ARCHE
SEPTEMBER 16, 1892 [FROM MTRBEAU'S]
My dear Lucien,
I don't believe I'll stay here much longer. Mirbeau's father is
very insistent that he visit him before the 25th 5 Mirbeau assures
me that he does not care to go, but I think it wise not to hamper
him. Unfortunately I didn't finish completely my three canvases,
and I don't know what kind of weather we will have. I will be
obliged to finished them in the studio.
I expect to ask for the Kew canvases (the ones 21 x 18 inches)
2,000 francs each from collectors, 1,500 from dealers; I think that
is reasonable. I am hesitating between 2,000 and 2,500 from deal-
ers for the canvases 25x21 inches. We shall see.
PARIS, OCTOBER 2, 1892
My dear Lucien,
I saw Joy ant who is very interested in our publication.1 He is
coming to Eragny to discuss our project and to see your large
woodcut; he asked me how many prints we would make and what
it would cost. I told him I didn't know and that for the moment
this side of it didn't concern us. He wants to hold an exhibition of
my watercolors, I don't see how that will help me. Evidently he
wants to attract collectors in order to sell at the same time works
by Monet, Degas, or others; so I told him that if he wanted to
show my watercolors he would do well to buy my six Kews. He
asked me to bring them, I replied that I wouldn't let go of them
1 No doubt a reference to the portfolio Travaux des Champs, prepared by Camille
and Lucien Pissarro.
203
unless he bought them. His answer was that he hadn't sold any-
thing of mine since last year.
I haven't yet gone to Durand-Ruel's. I will go presently. Portier
is expecting two collectors, he will do his utmost to sell them
something. He complains that the prices are too high for his col-
lectors, and likewise that the pictures are too new; however, he
finds them very beautiful.
I hear that poor Tanguy is ill. I shall go to see him. Write me
what paints I need or rather the amount remaining. I have just
seen Signac, who is to be married Monday, so I shall stay till
then.1 Durand told me that he expects to come to see me. He
volunteered this. It is agreed that I will let him set a date.
Degas is having an exhibition of landscapes $ 2 rough sketches in
pastel that are like impressions in colors, they are very interesting,
a little ungainly, though wonderfully delicate in tone. And what
astonishes me most is that Manzi and the others like them! No,
decidedly they do not understand; these notes so harmoniously
related, aren't they what we are seeking? Good enough, if they
understand Degas, they ought to understand us. Let me add that
the landscapes are very fine.
Speaking about Miss Cassatt's decoration, I wish you could have
heard the conversation I had with Degas on what is known as
"decoration." I am wholly of his opinion; for him it is an orna-
ment that should be made with a view to its place in an ensemble,
it requires the collaboration of architect and painter. The decora-
tive picture is an absurdity, a picture complete in itself is not a
decoration. It seems that even the [decorative paintings of] Puvis
de Chavannes don't go well in Lyon, etc., etc.
PARIS, DECEMBER 19, 1892
My dear Lucien,
I come from the exhibition [at Le Bare de Boutteville's] ; though
the day was overcast the pictures showed up pretty well. I saw Luce
there, he told me your picture was sold at the price you gave : 250
1 Paul Signac was going to be married to a distant relative of Camille Pissarro.
2 After the exhibition of the impressionists, this was the only one-man show
Degas ever had. The artist exhibited studies of landscapes recently executed, supposedly
in his studio.
204
francs with the frame. Your Kews look very well even in the fuzzy
light.
The sale of my series [done in England] to Durand has had
good results, I think. I believe it is best to sell to Durand for a
while. He hasn't said anything about this yet, I am biding my time.
A good sign: Prosper 1 said to me: "You surpassed yourself, they
are splendid!"
Meyer the Ball, whom I met, said to me : "You are unapproach-
able!"
Too late, 0 Ball, you always miss the bus !
1 Prosper Gamy, handy-man at Durand-PiuePs, had the complete confidence of his
employer.
205
18 9 3
PARIS, FEBRUARY 2, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I have been in Paris since yesterday. I got back from Poissy with
Georges, Esther and Titi; we met M. and Mme. Mirbeau at the
railroad station in Poissy and in the course of conversation the lat-
ter spoke to us with great enthusiasm of the Japanese exhibition
(Outamaro and Hiroshige) organized by Bing at Durand's. We
took the train to go to see it; the show is really astonishing and is
admirably arranged : little rooms of faded rose and pistachio-
green, it is exquisite, and the prints are wonderful. It is an artistic
event. Mirbeau and his wife didn't come with us.
I saw Durand. My exhibition is set for March 15.1 am sending
enclosed the list of canvases.
I saw Monet at the Japanese exhibition. Damn it all, if this show
doesn't justify us! There are grey sunsets that are the most striking
instances of impressionism.
PARIS, FEBRUARY 3, 1893
M y dear Lucien,
i ! .
You must have received the list of paintings which I sent with
my letter. We shall see, when I return, what paintings I can show;
considering how little time I have left — one month — I can't count
on finishing all the pictures on which I am working now.
Went to the impressionists' dinner yesterday with Titi, who
206
became very annoyed in the company of the old gang. Some nasty
remarks passed between Duret and Renoir about the election to
the Academy of a certain Thureau-Dangin, an illustrious un-
known, and the well deserved defeat of Zola,1 whose place is not
in that bedlam! How stupid!
Admirable, the Japanese exhibition. Hiroshige" is a marvelous
impressionist. Monet, Rodin and I are enthusiastic about the show.
I am pleased with my effects of snows and floods; these Japanese
artists confirm my belief in our vision.
PARIS, FEBRUARY 27, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I unpacked my cases. Durand seems to like the pictures well
enough, except for the hand of the Woman in Yellow Shawl [854]
and the sky of Hoar-frost which he claims is too obviously flaked !
We shall see when it is framed.
[On the left-hand page is this letter of Camille Pissarro to his
wife]:
My dear Julie,
I unpacked my cases at Durand's. I can't tell you anything, I
found all abominable and I must wait several days before I shall
see Durand again. While waiting I am going to begin a study of
La Place du Havre, it is very beautiful.
I will get some money tomorrow, I will send you a small sum,
as you wished.
Until I see you again. Kiss the children for me.
PARIS, MARCH 3, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Although the weather wasn't very promising, I have decided to
go to Poissy to take advantage of the days without wind, and I can
leave my Rue St. Lazare, which is advancing well, to dry.
1 Having entered his candidacy for the Academie Frangaise, Zola found himself
opposed by a certain Thureau-Dangin, who won by twenty-two votes to four.
207
Great news! the terrible Duret, the enthusiast of Japanese art,
has sold his entire collection of prints and books to Boussod . . .
and a good many of his canvases! He won't look at prints any
more ! He is buying old masters !
I saw Lautrec yesterday, and he introduced me to M. Marty,
who publishes a periodical devoted to prints. He asked me to give
him something for the second issue and also wants something from
you. You should give him something straightforward and well
knit. I don't know what I can give, a lithograph, perhaps?
PARIS, APRIL 28, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I went to Durand-Ruel's. Very friendly was Durand, and very
busy. I don't agree with Luce, strangely enough I found the
Manets extraordinary, certain prints have a surprising savor, so
unexpected, the little Spaniards, the sketches, I marveled at them.
No, I don't understand friend Luce's judgment. The Whistlers are
very beautiful, but unlike Luce I found the Manets more at-
tractive.
PARIS, MAY 9, 1895
My dear Lucien,
The canvas sold for 4,000 francs [at an auction] is about
21 x 18 inches in size. I haven't seen it. From the description and
the date — 1870-71 — I suppose it is a study of The Road from St.
Germain to Louveciennes [96] . The Ball [Meyer] told me today
that it was a great surprise and would have very happy conse-
quences! Damn it, the speculators aren't very shy. Well, let them
do as they please. It was Durand who bought it for an American.
PARIS, JUNE 7, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I have just seen Durand-Ruel, who was very friendly. Joseph
has arrived from New York, his reports are very alarming. It seems
208
38. — Camille Pissarro with his sons Lucien and Felix in Knocke,
Belgium, 1894. Photograph.
39. — Camille Pissarro in his Studio, about 1897. Photograph.
40. — Camille Pissarro in his Studio, about 1897. Photograph.
41. — Camille Pissarro with his Wife, his son Paul-Emile and his daughter
Jeanne, working in his garden, about 1897. Photograph.
they expect a real crisis soon as a result of the compromises the
Republican Party has made with the big speculators in metals.
Although outside these transactions, the art dealers will be affected
by them for some time. Look out below! It's always the same story,
if business slackens we are going to have trouble.
It is my hope that now that you find yourself back in London,
you will concentrate energetically on your studies and be able to
give free play to your sensations. I am most anxious to see where
you are going, the knowledge you have more than justifies your
being self-confident. The superb work you did as an engraver
proves this, your problem is to discover an execution appropriate
to your spirit. Do not permit yourself to be discouraged. Do not
overdevelop a critical sense, and trust your sensations blindly.
PARIS, JULY 3, 1893
My dear Lucieny
Tomorrow Parenteau expects to begin his treatment. While
waiting, I am beginning some small canvases which I will continue
at Eragny: figures, which is what Durand asks me for. He told
me that he saw the Woman with a Wheelbarrow [823] at the
abb£ Gauguin's and found it superb. I hope the things I am work-
ing on will satisfy him. I have also prepared several compositions
of Peasant Girls Bathing in a clear stream under a shade of wil-
lows; this tropical heat suggests motifs of shaded spots on river
banks. It seems to me that I have the best sense of the great poetry
in this. What hampers me is the impossibility of getting a model,
otherwise I could do things which would be new and rare. I shall
make up my mind to do only small figures, trifles. It's a pity.
Georges and Titi have prepared an album of etchings, very
nicely arranged, very much like your own. They intended to bring
it to Mirbeau so that he can show it to Roujon, but I think this
scheme must be abandoned. Here is why : Saturday, at about four
o'clock, the three of us decided to pay Mirbeau a short visit. We
entered by the back gate and saw, several paces from us, his wife
in a lilac dress with a bonnet fastened under her chin; we were
about to salute her, but Madame Mirbeau disappeared into a cabin
at the left of the first yard. We opened the gate, a little dismayed;
a maid came from the same cabin as if by chance. We asked if
Mirbeau was there.
209
"Monsieur is gone," she replied.
"And Madame?"
"She is sick in bed."
A picture! Sheepish, sweating, we left, discoursing on the
capriciousness of women and the fragility of the heartiest and
most intimate friendships. . . .
I won't go there again, I will not write to Mirbeau.1 I will
wait for a suitable occasion — not even that — I will remain in my
savage's retreat, scorning all tricks.
I have no news of art to tell you. It is so hot that we can think
of nothing but refreshing drinks, shady places and cold baths —
and of the rain for which we wait in vain!
PARIS, JULY 6, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Georges left last night for London.
Parenteau has operated on me, it seems with complete success.
I feel fine. I will probably leave on Monday.
PARIS, JULY 7, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Mirbeau just visited me. He was here already at half past one;
I was having lunch. He came as a scout, for his wife came also,
half an hour later. Before his wife came, I explained what had
happened on my visit. He assured me, somewhat embarrassed, that
his wife had been sick that day; the last straw, that. The servants
in that house have a funny practice : it seems that before showing
people to the door, the maid goes to the mistress to ask for direc-
tions. No, that sounded false, I could feel Mirbeau's embarrass-
ment. When his wife came, she insisted that it had been her
chambermaid; her attitude seemed to be : "Since I say it, it is so!"
1 During the same period a similar misadventure befell Jean Grave who, in his
book Le Mouvement Libertaire sous la Hie R6publique published Mirbeau's letter of
apology: "It was the fault of that foolish little girl who let you in, and who, out of
mischief, often plays such tricks on us. ... I am ill. Pissarro stayed with us
recently. . . . He was heartbroken to see me in such a condition."
210
I didn't insist, but remained cold, stiff. . . . They ended up by
inviting me, as they parted, to spend some time with them when I
leave for Eragny. "Oh! I have so much luggage, another time . . .
later on!" They insisted, obviously embarrassed by the coldness of
my manner. I should be very surprised if Madame didn't under-
stand.
ERAGNY, JULY 15, 1893
My dear Lucien,
What you tell me about Vallotton doesn't surprise me. His work
is characterized by a great feeling for the decorative. His black,
his correct drawing, while greatly exaggerating, strikes the specta-
tor, in short, is new and valid, and it is not surprising that he has
attracted attention.
ERAGNY, JULY 20, 1893
My dear Lucien,
The fourteenth of July has been a most sad day. I would have
liked to send you the newspapers, to keep you abreast of develop-
ments, it is worth the trouble. It all began with a procession of
students in single file against that idiot Berenger, the old senator
who had denounced the Bal des Quat'zarts. The cops and troopers
slugged, killed, invaded even the hospitals ; this coincided with the
closing of the Bourse de Travail, more sluggings on the Place du
Chateau d'Eau. Behind the whole mess is the fact that the Minister
Dupuis was anxious, in view of the coming elections, to give the
Right an earnest proof of his support. Long live the Republic ! . . .
everybody is happy.
ERAGNY, JULY 26, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I have looked for the recipe for painting with cheese. The prepa-
ration that John L. Brown uses is the following: a mixture of
casein with a borax solution (100 parts of casein to 10-12 parts
211
of borax) . You will find it in London. I advise you to have the
mixture prepared by a pharmacist. You have to use powdered
colors with it and work while the mixture is still lukewarm. I
found it preferable not to pulverize certain colors too much — the
result is then exactly like pastel.
Georges tells me that Epping is not very beautiful. Bah! one
can make such beautiful things with so little. The motifs that are
too beautiful sometimes appear even theatrical — just look at
Switzerland. Old Corot, didn't he make beautiful little paintings
in Gisors, two willows, a little stream, a bridge, like the painting at
the Universal Exhibition? What a masterpiece! Happy are those
who see beauty in the modest spots where others see nothing.
Everything is beautiful, the whole secret lies in knowing how to
interpret. And from your description, the place must be very
interesting.
I am certain that I will not be able to visit you this year, I have
too many things to do and I have to take care of myself. If things
are well with us after the winter is over, I may pay you a visit.
Yesterday I began the American treatment by means of injections.
If I can cure the cartilage there is a good chance that I will be rid
of this illness.
Portier came to see me. He took away with him for cleaning
eighteen canvases, among them the one that was hung in the hall.
He says it will be marvelous [when cleaned] . This excellent
Portier is now concerned only with cleaning paintings, and in-
cidentally, he makes an excellent job of it. He cleaned up the
painting of Esther G., View of Louveciennes, it is a resurrection.
Georges had brought it to Durand-Ruel before it was cleaned,
what naivete! Georges expected to sell it; not only did Durand
reject, he even denied that it was my work. I laugh to myself, one
of these days I will hang this canvas, properly framed, with my
other works, and give him a lesson in painting, as bye-the-bye, has
happened more than once.
I received from Italy a letter from a lady who wants to know
what I charge for lessons and whether she could find lodging near
me. I answered that I don't give lessons, but that I have a son liv-
ing near London who could help her more than I, unable to spare
the time and sick as I am.
212
ERAGNY, AUGUST 4, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Here are the ingredients for egg paints : the yellow of an egg
beaten, a spoonful of alcohol, a little Arabian gum, very little. I
have looked for the formula everywhere and not been able to find
it, but this must be close to it. Shannon can experiment with this,
and I will try to see Zandomeneghi who gave me the formula
once before. I forgot to tell you to use casein in the mixing of
borax with warm or lukewarm water.
ERAGNY, AUGUST 13, 1893
My dear Lucien,
The weather is very beautiful here except for a few storms and
the unbearable heat. I am working outdoors, hard. I have a num-
ber of things finished, figures and landscapes, which I shall try to
sell, for our funds decrease under our eyes. We will have to pay
for masons, carpenters and locksmiths who are rebuilding the loft
and my studio in the barn and making repairs all around. What a
pity that we can't get together, there is room here for a colony of
painters. The woodwork of the window in the studio is partly done,
the light will be superb. The one thing that bothers me about the
studio is that your mother stores grain and hay in the barn. These
are very inflammable, a little fermentation and they can take fire.
I am not easy in my mind about this; I realize that I will be in-
sured, no matter! my lost studies will not be restored. I intend to
keep my principal things in this studio.
Would you believe that a dealer showed Portier a horrible copy
of a work by some painter, claiming it was a picture by me? The
picture is signed Pissarro but with the initial C. He sent me a
traced copy. The gentleman who has it said he got it from me. . . .
I finally discovered that it was something made by your uncle
Alfred from pictures which he took for rent.
215
ERAGNY, AUGUST 27, 1893
My dear Lucien,
My studio is taking form. They are setting the ceiling to it.
Its measurements are 7x8]^ meters and the ceiling is very high.
It will have a large enough window on the west side, which I
would have liked to be square-shaped, but I thought of that too
late. The door will be right near the entrance to the barn, the stair-
way in the court and the roofing will be of old tiles. Besnard this
morning sent me the drawing for the carpenter, I find it some-
what pretty. I should prefer something more rustic. The real
nuisance is how to cover the stairs, some covering, it seems, is
imperative. Faith, I will cover the whole of it with new vines, that
will save the form.
I forgot the main thing : a bay-window, three meters archwise
to the north, which gives a good light. And now, once everything
is complete and the bills are paid, the question is : will my paint-
ings not be poorer, am I not too old to paint anything worth all
this trouble?
Titi works without much energy; Rodolphe, as a result of our
threats to get him a position at a notary's, draws from time to
time. No, that won't do ! I would like to see them begin to look at
nature more attentively and with passion; the moment has not
come yet, they prefer to work conceptually. . . . Yes, but knowledge
is necessary. However I must say that Titi has done some studies
which indicate a certain amount of progress, but he quickly be-
comes slack when inspiration doesn't come and this is apparent in
his work.
ERAGNY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Lord, how money slips through one's fingers. I haven't much
left. I hope that Durand, who has the knack of recognizing when
someone needs him, won't play the hypocrite and make promises
he can't keep. I am waiting impatiently for a chance to go to Paris
and see what I can do. Chene, the dealer of the rue de la Paix, is
very enthusiastic about the idea of having me deal with the
jeweler Vever. He [Vever] is a big speculator in works of the
214
school of 1830 and has made an enormous fortune on them ; it
seems that he is on the point of taking something. It seems that
the Chicago exhibition, at which he had to participate, was a
colossal flop. It is to be feared that this may cool his ardor. This
Chicago folly is a great pity. Who the devil wants to have any
truck with pork-butchers?
I was introduced at Chene's to an American dealer interested
exclusively in the painters of 1830. He admitted to me that a great
step had been taken forward since then.
"Well then," said Chene, "get something before it is too dear!"
"Oh!" said the dealer, "we are not that confident. Sutton has
too many Monets. If he doesn't make a good deal soon, it may
turn out to be a poor investment."
Sutton, the big American dealer who has one hundred and
twenty Monets, has become Durand's competitor, they fight on
our backs. I know of these things only by hints, which worry me
no end.
The weather is frightful today, rain and wind. It must be the
same at Epping, it's a pity. It has been so beautiful lately and I was
beginning to work regularly from nature. It is maddening, for
this is the most favorable time, September and October. I can't
endure the summer any more, with its thick, monotonous green,
its dry distances, where everything is clearly outlined, its torment-
ing heat, depression, somnolence. The sensations necessary to art
revive in September and October . . . whereupon there is wind
and rain!
In the autumn of 189), Felix (Titi) joined his brothers, Lucien
and Georges, in England. Georges and Felix returned to Eragny
by the end of the year.
ERAGNY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1893
My dear boys,
At last! Let us speak of art, my boys. I look at your engravings
from time to time and the more I scan them the more I become
convinced that you are real chaps ! Recently Pozier came to see me,
215
I showed him your woodcuts, he was enthusiastic about them. I
expect Titi to do something big and well studied, based on nature.
One feels great progress in the observation of nature in Georges'
engraving. Lucien's has great purity. . . .
I do remember the engraving you [Lucien] had in the Dial,
but I never said that I disliked it. I simply remarked that it would
have been better if the figure had been more clearly articulated
against the background. This is just a question of the eye, mine in
particular, nothing more than that, and it does not imply that
your engraving is not admirable from other points of view.
Even among masters like Degas, I sometimes discover manque-
ments de valeurs; to point these out is not to judge the substance of
the work any more than to note a misspelling is to condemn a book.
But scorn my judgments! I have such a longing for you all to be
great that I cannot hide my opinions from you. Accept only those
that are in accord with your sentiments and mode of understand-
ing. Although we have substantially the same ideas, these are
modified in you by youth and a milieu strange to me; and I am
thankful for that; what I fear most is for you to resemble me too
much. Be bold, then, and to work! . . .
They have just set in the sash of the large bay-window in the
studio. The glass has to be put in, I hope Crepin doesn't make me
wait ! The studio is splendid, but I often say to myself : what is the
good of a studio? Once I painted no matter where; in all seasons,
in the worst heat, on rainy days, in the most frightful cold, I
found it possible to work with enthusiasm. Your mother re-
proached me for indifference, but it was not this feeling that
prompted me, on the contrary, the more irked I was, the more I
felt the need to paint. . . . Will I be able to work in these new
surroundings? Surely my painting will be affected; my art is going
to put on gloves, I will become official, deuce take it! . . . This is a
serious moment, I shall have to watch myself and try not to fall!
PARIS, OCTOBER 3, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I have been in Paris for several days, and I am quite satisfied
with the results of my visit, not from the point of view of selling
my work, but in so far as I learned some things which I must not
216
42. — Lucien Pissarro: Solitude. Woodcut. Published in 1893 in The Dial.
pursue. I thought I could drop Durand, now I am sure it is almost
impossible. I went to meet Chene on arriving, we talked about
everything. He told me that America is finished as far as pictures
are concerned, everyone is bankrupt. A gallery just went bankrupt
in New York; Chene lost something in it, you can see how dis-
couraged he must feel. So nothing can be expected from that
quarter. He told me that Durand was going to New York and
would feel the effects of the general situation. Very disturbed, I
went to see Durand. To all appearances very calm, Durand re-
ceived me most cordially and told me that he would leave for New
York in eight days.
"The deuce!" I replied, "I come too late, I wanted to ask you
to come and see my summer's work."
"Never mind! Joseph will go to see you, he can take my place
well enough and pick as well as I. He will come out some Sunday
by bicycle."
"Of course. Just the same I am sorry you will be gone, I should
have liked to show you some figure paintings."
217
"Never fear, I shall be in New York for just a while. I shall set
up my son, the next to the oldest, and return."
So there is hope. Durand will buy my work, I hope, though
probably less than last year. But we must be watchful, it is going to
be hard to get money. The Paris collectors are going to want to
lower our prices.
Joseph Durand told me that he had seen Monet at Giverny.
He told me Monet had changed his style and was dividing tones
by means of little dots, closely resembling my own work. That
doesn't help me any ! !
PARIS, OCTOBER 4, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I went to see my good and worthy friend de Bellio. To my
stupefaction de Bellio told me, speaking of my last show, that I
had gone beyond Monet, that my art was more serious and that
I had surpassed Monet's Poplars. In all sincerity I don't dare be-
lieve him, I feel so puny and mean next to that robust artist!
I saw the pictures cleaned by Portier — the deuce ! The large can-
vas that hung in our lobby is splendid. Degas, who saw it, said it
was noble. Another canvas, about 39 x 31 inches, Hills Above the
Railway from Dieppe, is even more astonishing! All are beautiful.
[PARIS] OCTOBER 5, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Joyant has just left Boussod & Valadon. It seems that Joyant is
wealthy in his own right. As Boussod & Valadon wanted to treat
him as they treated poor Theo van Gogh, he left him in the
lurch and is going, it is said, to set himself up with Manzi. I shall
go see him at Manzi's. But I don't trust that schemer Manzi at all.
Besides, I don't believe he understands my work. But I have a
feeling that I have come to have some importance.
218
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 9, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I have just received a letter from a gentleman, an American
doctor and ophthalmologist, who informs me that he came to ask
me for data on color-vision. I was in Paris, and he left for London.
He visited Monet, who, it appears, interested him greatly by what
he had to say in this regard. He expects to return and I will avail
myself, if I can, of his opinion of my eye-trouble. I thought it
advisable to give him your address so that you can explain to him
your views on optical mixture and ways of mixing colors, etc.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 10, 1893
My dear Lucien,
We received this morning with your letter of the 7th, your
telegram announcing your wife's successful delivery. She had
what she desired : a little girl.
I am very annoyed to see that Durand is in no hurry to get you
money which you must need now.
Send us news of your wife, let us know if your mother-in-law
is with you and how everything is going.
Kiss my grand-daughter and Esther for us all. Remember, there
are dangers after giving birth, be careful. Be careful at night!
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 17, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter of the 13th announcing that your wife
and little Ora * (how comical a name !) are doing nicely. I hope
the little difficulties of the first days will not be prolonged.
Portier came yesterday. He carried two packages of my canvases
which he had cleaned. It is amazing! I hung them on the wall of
my old studio, they looked extremely well. Some have a clarity
and Tightness that astonish me. I hope the collectors will hasten to
take them — but I have no illusions. I know perfectly well that
grey, lusterless painting is not understood.
1 In actual fact, the daughter of Lucien and Esther Pissarro was named Orovida.
219
The studio is progressing slowly, softly, most quietly. The great
bay has finally gotten its glass pane, as well as the other window;
the doors are finished, the balcony and stairway are to be set up
tomorrow, they tell me. I hope, after Crepin has put a coat of grey
paint on the walls and the ceiling has been cleaned, I hope to
begin a study from the window, for it is fairylike at this moment,
and I am greatly in need of painting.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 23, 1895
Dear Esther,
Your sweet letter gave us great satisfaction. We are happy to
know that you have completely recovered and that our grand-
daughter has only to grow and be pretty. The first days after the
delivery are relatively easy, but you have to be careful to avoid
all sorts of illnesses later, you must take care of yourself as well
as of the baby. You will learn bit by bit to anticipate these indis-
positions and thus you will begin to appreciate the virtues of
homeopathy.
You ask about my eye : it is just the same, Parenteau's treatment
has changed nothing. I am using a preparation suggested by de
Bellio — up till now the results are nil. I will soon try out Sutter's
method, about which Hayet told us.
Kiss our little girl, we send you our affection and our wishes for
your good health.
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 10, 1893
My dear Lucien,
No Durand on the horizon, no one, nothing! Decidedly a trip
to Paris is in order! And it is terribly cold! I am very worried.
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 17, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Unfortunately it is only too true : charlatanism is indispensable
to getting oneself noticed. Thus, at this moment, even in Paris,
critics of integrity like Geffroy write without compunction articles
220
on Vogler, who passes now for a great master. I wager that before
long he will have an encomium from Mirbeau! It is inevitable.
I will probably go to Paris Sunday.
PARIS, NOVEMBER 23, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Durand has agreed to advance me some money for the various
payments I have to make to the carpenters, masons, etc. I hope
Joseph Durand will come to Eragny and take a certain number of
canvases.
Gauguin's present show is the admiration of all the men of
letters. They are, it appears, completely enthusiastic. The col-
lectors are baffled and perplexed. Various painters, I am told, all
find this exotic art too reminiscent of the Kanakians. Only Degas
admires, Monet and Renoir find all this simply bad. I saw
Gauguin; * he told me his theories about art and assured me that
the young would find salvation by replenishing themselves at re-
mote and savage sources. I told him that this art did not belong to
him, that he was a civilized man and hence it was his function to
show us harmonious things. We parted, each unconvinced. Gauguin
is certainly not without talent, but how difficult it is for him to
find his own way! He is always poaching on someone's ground ;
now he is pillaging the savages of Oceania.
PARIS, NOVEMBER 27, 1893
My dear Lucien,
Today Miss Cassatt's exhibition opens at Durand-Ruel's. I am
going to see it presently.
I just received an invitation to the Brussels exhibition of La
Libre Esthetique, a continuation of the old group Les Vingt. It
isn't such a good idea for me to show with them. It would have
been more appropriate to invite you, you others, their program
1 Gauguin, repatriated from Tahiti, had landed in Marseille on August SO, 189$,
with four francs in his pocket. Shortly afterwards he inherited some money from an
uncle and this enabled him to take a studio in Paris. In November he exhibited
forty canvases and two sculptures at Durand-RueVs. The show was not a financial
success, since Gauguin demanded rather high prices for his paintings. The preface to
the catalogue for the exhibition was written by Gauguin's friend, Charles Morice.
221
being to show the new art, which, incidentally, seems to me some-
what naive. What do you think?
Everyone to whom I talked about Gauguin's exhibition was
furious. De Bellio, among others, thinks it was absolutely bad
and senseless! They are all even more outraged than I.
Durand promised to come to see me. I hope things will improve.
It seems, from a gentleman I saw at Portier's, that the dealers are
transfixed by the bad turn things have taken in America and here.
They can't make a penny and seem to regret not having helped us
for some ten years, for we are the only ones who, relatively speak-
ing, were bought here and in America. They rue the day and are
envious of Durand. Well ! If that only meant something, but I am
always suspicious!
Lecomte, Feneon, Luce, Signac who has made great progress
this year, send you friendly regards.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 5, 1893
My dear Lucien,
It was a pleasure to get The Dial. I find Shannon's two litho-
graphs very beautiful. I say his "two," for the third, with the
large Rossetti-like figures, didn't please me, I miss in it the frank-
ness and rich flavor which are the mark of this fine artist when
he isn't thinking of the Pre-Raphaelites or rather, of the symbol-
ists. Your woodcut looks very good, much better than the proofs
of it I saw.1
We are at last on the way to solving our problem: Durand
junior came with his friend Mellerio and bought 28,600 francs'
worth of pictures. As a result of this windfall I will be able to
make the final payment for the house, 7,000 francs with the in-
terest and incidental costs, I will give 4,000 francs to Monet and
pay for the work that was done here. Not much will be left, but I
hope to have a show of my watercolors, pastels and paintings in
March, and I should make enough to hold me till the end of the
year.
At this moment Miss Cassatt has a very impressive show at
Durand-Ruel's. She is really very able!
l See fig. 42.
222
I just this minute received a line from Signac about a store
which is for rent and in which exhibitions can be held. I am send-
ing you his letter. Write me if you like the idea and let me know
what you wish to exhibit; something salable.
On the 15th of December the neo-impressionist shop opens.
What works of yours shall I announce? Quickly!
Dear Master,
The arrangement I mentioned to you is now a reality, but
contrary to what I told you, there will be no subscription, either
in pictures or in money, to cover the costs.
Here are the facts: Antoine de la Rochefoucauld is pleased to
offer us a completely equipped shop for which he will pay the
rent for a permanent exhibition. Those who exhibit at Brebant's
will be included, plus La Rochefoucauld and Angrand if the latter
is willing.
Anarchist grouping: a turn at the regular show-window — new
pictures to be exhibited every month — a bulletin-catalogue to be
sent every month to the collectors and to the press.
Twenty percent on each painting sold will be deducted to pay
Moline, who has taken over the " selling" side. From this twenty
percent he has to pay the costs of the clerk, lighting, etc. If at the
end of the year this twenty percent is not enough to cover even
these small expenses, the deficit will be made up by the exhibitors.
A purely formal fee (one franc a year?) will be paid by each
to give everyone the same rights.
I think Georges and Lucien will be happy to take part in this
serious and lasting manifestation. . . . As for you, dear Master,
you know how you would gladden us by sending us anything at
all: drawing, watercolor. How happy we would be to have with us
your desired canvases which those belchers, the dealers, didn't
want! Whatever you do or decide will have gospel weight with us.
Incidentally, La Rochefoucauld will send you word himself of his
fine and generous enterprise. I am writing you in advance so that
the entries of our dear Pissarros can be ready.
Keep secret the matter of our friend's assistance, he wants to
appear as just another participant in this enterprise.
Accept, dear Master, for yourself and your family my most
cordial and sincere regards.
Paul Signac
223
Excuse the precipitousness of this letter. — / am also writing to
Theo [van Rysselberghe] and to Cross. This is a real circular. —
Each one of us will contribute every month two or three medium-
sized canvases and two or three smaller ones, or drawings, wood-
cuts, watercolors, lithographs, etchings, etc. I beg you to send me
as soon as possible the list of Pissarro entries and their dimensions.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 10, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I hope you will enter something with Signac, Petitjean; but act
as you think best. I am enclosing another plan for a group (de-
cidedly, they are springing up everywhere) , that of the Plume. As
for me, my nest is made, I must remain with the Old; Signac
would have liked to win me over, but I renounce.
I am having a show with Durand-Ruel in March, but can any-
one count on anything in such an epoch? . . . Doubtless you have
read in the newspapers that a bomb was hurled into the Chamber
of Deputies * . . . the deuce ! . . . the poor are refractory.
[ERAGNY] DECEMBER 15, 1893
My dear Lucien,
You must know about the reactionary wind which is sweeping
the country now. You know Feneon's Dutch friend, the translator
of Ibsen? He is in confinement and is waiting to be taken across
the frontier ! The poor lad, according to the newspapers, had done
nothing! . . . Look out! . . . Hauptmann's play [Die Weber]
has been forbidden and won't take the boards at the Theatre de
l'Oeuvre — because it is socialistic! This reminds me of a tune
known in the days when one named Badinguet prospered ! Who the
devil says there is something new? This is old, arch-old!
1 On December 9th the anarchist Vaillant hurled a bomb in the Chamber of
Deputies, wounding some fifty people but killing none.
224
43. — Camille Pissarro, Photograph, about 1895.
44. — Claude Monet, Photograph.
45. — Auguste Renoir, Photograph.
46. — Paul Cezanne, Photograph.
PARIS, DECEMBER 19, 1893
My dear Lucien,
I went to see your canvases at Contet's. I find that you have
made great progress. Your execution is much more free, your
motifs are well taken, the values are right. One effort more and
you will no longer be the same! Your backgrounds are luminous;
perhaps you are still timid in taking the plunge. But you show, I
repeat, even in this regard, real progress. You began your little
study in too high tones : it is my belief that one must begin with
the exact value of the object one sees. Your trees are very well
drawn, perhaps still a bit harsh against the clear backgrounds, but
very well done. I am perhaps a little too meddlesome, for your
work impressed me as excellent.
PARIS, DECEMBER 23, 1893
My dear Lucien,
The Neos haven't opened yet. The shop is painted a clear blue,
which stains the rue Laffitte. The interior is not ready yet. I would
have liked to see how your paintings look in there, for at Contet's
you can't view them properly. This will be for my next trip.
At Durand-Ruel's I met Faure,1 who was enthusiastic about
my work and confused me with his long delayed praise. That's
being on the rise! . . . Yes, my dear, he considers me a master!
the great master ! . . . Fortunately I don't let myself become vain,
I know from experience what all that is worth.
PARIS [DECEMBER 28, 1893]
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday I saw a picture by Guillaumin. It is always the same
art, although a little less brutal. With all his talent he falls back on
dark tones. It is really unfortunate to deliberately blind oneself! . . .
It is true that he says as much of me. But I know where I am going
and why; but he, who shouted with us against Jules Dupr£ and
all the obscurantists, turns his back to the sun. His work is darker
than ever; of course: the higher his tones, the browner the result.
1 The actor J. B. Faure was a friend of Manet who had made several portraits
of him. Faure owned an important collection, including a number of Manet's works.
225
18 94
ERAGNY, JANUARY 3, 1894
My dear Lucien,
Georges and Titi, who have returned from Paris, gave us the
details about the show of the Neos. . . . The outside of the shop
is painted a clear blue with red letters, it is ugly, it is like the
entrance to a bazaar, but it seems that nobody finds anything
amiss. The day of the opening there was a relatively large crowd $
M. Viau was there, he expressed the opinion that you, Georges,
Titi and Petitjean were best represented. The dot appears thin and
bodiless in this ensemble. It wouldn't be a bad idea for you to show
new things there from time to time. Fate favored you and another
artist, with him you have the honor of being the first to occupy
the show-window.
The press [for etchings] I bought from Delatre has been in-
stalled in the large studio; I am waiting for ink to make some
prints. We tried to print with oil color, the effect is astonishing.
It gives me the urge to do more etchings.
It is cold here, the wind is icy. I think that you must be endur-
ing the same time at Epping. I have begun four or five large can-
vases from my window for my exhibition in March.
ERAGNY, JANUARY 14, 1894
My dear Lucien,
It is some time since I wrote you last, but I have been occupied
with so many things. Since I had the press, I decided to make
226
prints of Baigneuses$ everything went well until I had to stop.
The press Delatre sold me for 300 francs with accessories broke
down ! The hub of the fly-wheel broke under an ordinary pressure,
so I am unable to go on. I wrote him a furious letter.
The studio is marvelous to work in, but everything I began has
the same motifs as my paintings of last year. I am trying to find
new effects, and I have six or seven canvases representing this effort
well advanced.
PARIS, JANUARY 21, 1894
My dear Lucien,
A young man I knew through John Lewis Brown, and who was
warmly recommended to me by M. Viau, has opened a small gal-
lery in the rue Laffitte.1 He shows nothing but pictures of the
young. There are some very fine early Gauguins, two beautiful
things by Guillaumin, as well as paintings by Sisley, Redon,
Raffaelli, de Groux, of this last a very beautiful work. I spoke to
him about you and Georges. When you have something, you must
send it to him. I believe this little dealer is the one we have been
seeking, he likes only our school of painting or works by artists
whose talents have developed along similar lines. He is very en-
thusiastic and knows his job. He is already beginning to attract the
attention of certain collectors who like to poke about.
Guillaumin has a very fine exhibition at Durand's. Seen as a
whole, it is astonishing how his work gains ; this show ought to
help him greatly.
Until next time. Everybody is well at Eragny. Georges and
Rodo are here. They went with Luce to pull some lithographs on
zinc; the prints are for Marty.
I have just had prints made of two etchings of Baigneuses;
amazing! you will see it. It is perhaps too naturalistic, these are
peasant women — in hearty nakedness! I am afraid it will offend
the delicate, but I think it is what I do best, if I don't deceive my-
self . . . well.
1 This young man was Ambroise Vollard (fig. S3) who was soon to yield to
Pissarro's insistence and go to seek out Paul Cizanne. Vollard presented the first one-
man show of Cezanne'' s work in the fall of 1895.
227
PARIS, JANUARY 25, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I will give you the details of what passed between Petitjean and
Signac; this is only the beginning of disagreeable discussions
among the Neos, for Petitjean completely agrees with our view that
there is no future in a method as constricted as that of the dot ex-
clusively! About this I am sending you L'Echo de Paris, which
contains an article by Mirbeau who treats Signac a little roughly
but, alas ! is only too correct in what he says of his painting.1
ERAGNY, JANUARY 27, 1894
My dear Lucien,
Decidedly I do not understand Signac. After having had a
run-in with Petitjean, now there is something else. Besides, he is
always the same : a spoiled child. Unable to endure the criticism of
Mirbeau's article, he writes me the matchless letter appended
below :
My dear Master,
Would it be too much trouble for you to write to Mirbeau that
a Signac, in your opinion, resembles a Seurat no more than a
Hokusai a Hiroshige? If, indeed, the reproach of imitativeness with
which he seeks to overwhelm me seems to you unjust.
The friendship you have always shown me and the compliments
you so freely paid me for my recent canvases justify my asking
this service of you.
Cordially,
Paul Signac
I found this request so singular, coming as it does from a be-
ginner, that I became very embarrassed with this good fellow, who
is fine enough but much too irascible and much too immodest, con-
sidering the poor character of his work. Here is my reply, which I
was perhaps wrong to moderate.
1 Unfortunately it has not been possible to find and quote this important article.
228
G&JH
229
"My dear Signac,
"Yes, I do indeed object to writing Mirbeau what you ask me
to, and for a number of reasons : (1) because my relations with
him are no longer friendly, as you know perfectly well, (2)
because, for your part, it is improper to dispute the opinion of a
critic even when you are convinced you are right. And if you
want my frank opinion, which I am glad to have an oppor-
tunity to make clear, I find the [neo-impressionist] method it-
self bad; instead of helping the artist, it paralyzes and freezes
him. If I complimented you this year, it is because I found your
latest canvases better than those you exhibited with the lnde-
pendants, but I am far from believing that you have taken the
direction suited to your essentially painter's temperament. If
until now I said nothing about this to you, it was because I was
sure you would find it disagreeable and, finally, because you
may not share my convictions.
"Reflect maturely and consider whether the moment has not
come to evolve towards an art close to sensation, freer and more
in accord with your nature.
"Though you take it amiss, my dear friend, and I hope you
will not, this is my frank and sincere opinion.
"Yours"
I append a copy of the second letter Signac wrote me to tell me
that, far from changing, he would continue in the neo-impression-
ist direction which he approves. — That is all right with me. After
all, he is right to do so since he is convinced.
January 25
My dear Master,
In asking you to write Mirbeau what I often heard you remark
in the old days (with the same technique, a Signac, a Lucien, a
Seurat are quite distinct), I had completely forgotten that you
were on distant terms with him. I quite understand your not writ-
ing him and I beg you to excuse my importunity. Just the same I
am convinced that, however poor in fact my method of painting
may strike you, you must necessarily regard as unjust this too
sweeping indictment of a serious and sincere artist, and that you
cannot but believe that ten years of persistent and disinterested
effort deserve better treatment.
230
And, candidly, is this method as bad as all that? (I am not
referring to the dot). . . . I have never employed it and I never
will, for both the word and the thing give me the shudders; what
I have in mind is the principle of division, harmony and contrast.
I can even now clearly recall your expressions of satisfaction when
you stood before my works. Can a thing one has liked so well sud-
denly appear so odious? It is not I who have changed, dear Master!
Since that time, far from having retrogressed, I have been develop-
ing in that direction . . . and you yourself this year took occasion
to note my development. Your kind words greatly encouraged me
to continue, even as your enthusiasm in the old days, when I was
a beginner, gave me strength.
While I am convinced that we are on the right track, I am
even more convinced that we have still a long way to go. There
is all the more reason not to be discouraged; on the contrary, it is
necessary to persevere and work hard. — Moreover, neither charm
of impaste nor the savor of soft tones can tempt me or stay me from
my path. For seven years now I have set myself against their easy
and enticing promises.
I am certain that the definitively " nec-impressionist^ technique,
when completely disburdened of certain obscure and obstructing
elements — give us credit for such research — can alone lead to
harmony, light, coloration. . . .
Believe, dear Master, that far from taking it amiss, I am very
grateful to you for having written me the opinion you have held
for some time.
It is a mark of confidence of which I am proud and for which I
thank you.
Cordially yours,
Paul Signac
But if I were to continue our correspondence on this matter 1
should not be able to keep from writing him: "But damn it all,
then make something that has life!" He is disgusted with soft
tones, impaste; that is likely. I would reply to that: "Take Corot,
Courbet, Delacroix, Rembrandt! And then, damn it, paint with —
sepia, if you like, but in God's name, make something good! I
don't give a fig for the method if the result is poor."
Signac wants me to give him credit for hard work. Faith, I am
willing to grant that. But what a flop he's made of it!
231
Poor Signac! Nobody dares tell him the truth ... it will be
necessary to do so some day. But even before the dot, he hadn't
done anything very good, that is clear.
ERAGNY, JANUARY 28, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I have sent Theo [van Rysselberghe, in Belgium] the list of
prices as you suggested. I upped all my etchings proportionately j
you are right, if they are good, I don't see why I shouldn't set my
prices as high as Legros'. But I have little chance of selling them,
although it is surprising how much artists like my things. Theo
paid me not a few compliments for what he saw here, but consider-
ing how indifferent are the collectors, I hesitate to believe him.
We shall see about the Daphnis,1 but the nude without a model
bothers me as it does you, for I no longer have any hope of getting
a model.
I have just made prints of the following : Peasant Woman Dig-
ging [D.95], Peasant Woman with Pitchers [D.85], a small Por-
trait of Grandmother [D.73], Weeder [D.72], The Rue Mal-
palue [D.53].2
These proofs are much clearer than the ones pulled by that mis-
erable Delatre; his were soaked too much. If you need The Rue
Malpalue, it is very beautiful, as is the Weeder. For the last num-
ber of Marty's portfolio I made a lithograph on stone; I am hoping
that he will agree to reserve twelve proofs for me. And at Tail-
liardat's I had pulled several lithographs on zinc of Women Strug-
gling, playing in the water, as in the first proofs [D.l 59 and 1 60] .
When should I send paintings to van Wisseling? It is absolutely
necessary to deal independently of Durand.
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 11, 1894
My dear Lucien,
What you tell me about your woodcut is not new. Every time
you tire while working on something, you find it completely dif-
1 Lucien had suggested to his father that they together illustrate Daphnis and
Chloe. Pissarro would do the drawings and Lucien would cut them on wood. See fig. 54.
* These etchings dated from 1883, 1887, 1889 and 1890.
232
ferent from what you intended, of course! It is an old story. You
must send us a proof so that we can judge it.
The article by Geffroy in Le Journal is even harder on Signac
than was Mirbeau's, yet it was moderate enough. If something by
a writer of talent appears in the newspaper, I'll send it to you. As
to telling you anything about the recent events, little prompts
me to speak ; no, not a word, nothing. As the English say: I shut
my box. Besides, I want to take out a regular subscription. Le
Journal, while it is gossipy, very inconsistent and vulgar, is by its
very character forced to publish young and talented writers. The
movement is there, and these young writers are to some extent
obliged to deal with the true and the beautiful in all manifesta-
tions, and there is a little less wickedness than in England where
the press is anonymous.
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 18, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I am going to Paris on the twentieth to organize my show. I need
at least eight days to prepare for the little event. I have to be pre-
pared in advance for the thousands of difficulties that necessarily
come up. Unfortunately in these troubled times people are hardly
concerned with art. But the wine is poured, it has to be drunk.
After my exhibition I will probably decide to go elsewhere to
paint some pictures, for I have done enough with the motifs here
in Bazincourt with its pleasing parish, I have to make a good new
series. Where will I go? To Touraine? To England? I don't know,
I am afraid to go to Epping, where it seems it is always windy.
This is a pity, for from the sketches of Georges and Titi, and your
own studies, it would seem the country there has great beauty. You
might look around or make inquiries, perhaps you could locate
some spot sheltered from winds — which are so bad for me. So if I
should decide to make a trip across the Channel, it would be best
for you not to come to Paris. If I decide to make a campaign in
England, I would be glad to be near you. This will not prevent you
from doing good work, I know you fear my influence, but there
is such a thing as going too far.
I would have liked you to see the exhibition of a young painter
named Maufra, a friend of that good Flournoy from Nantes. The
235
boy has talent, his work is very synthetic and based on observation
of nature, precisely what you strive for in your engravings and
what you have so much difficulty realizing in painting; only
Maufra is best in his sketches retouched with pastel (between the
two of us; it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to do that, as an exer-
cise) , but has not yet succeeded very well with painting. But he
will get there, his studies justify confidence in him.
Georges and Titi went to Gisors for a walk; hardly any work
has been done for several days; they seem to feel the need to do
things at random, to walk, to play, to disguise themselves. I suppose
youth is claiming its rights. ... I still do not know what Georges
will decide to do. He seems to want to take a little trip to Belgium
for the exhibition of La Libre Esthetique. I do not know whether
he will cling to this project or come with me to London. I still feel
that he could make a name for himself in England. You say it is
difficult in England : it is difficult anywhere ! And it has to be Eng-
land, for here I am a hindrance to all of you. To succeed in Eng-
land, you have to be resolute and work hard, but what is so ter-
ribly difficult is to take the path appropriate to you and pursue it
undeviatingly. Until now, neither Georges nor you have known
what to do, now it was furniture, now it was engraving. But the
problem is to decide once and for all. I should like to see Georges
make up his mind to work modestly without taking himself too
seriously, and arrange his life simply with what I can give him,
while keeping himself in readiness for any opportunity to show his
works; to do, in a word, what we old-timers have patiently done
for years. One strives in vain. What is necessary is to prepare the
ground with truly felt works, and one's reputation takes care of
itself. There is no better method, everything else is superfluous.
Long hair, dandyism, noise, count for nothing; work, observation
and sensation are the only real forces.
PARIS, FEBRUARY 23, 1894
My dear Lucien,
What bothers me most about these trips to England is coming
back; think how short is the time, three months for painting im-
portant works, and we must allow for the time lost searching for a
suitable location; hardly have you found what you want when you
234
have to think of returning. It is this which bothers me, and espe-
cially considering that autumn is the most beautiful season. So a
decision must be made on this basis : either I must find some prac-
tical way of staying in England long enough to execute a score
of important pictures, with new effects, or I must stay in France
and content myself with going to the seashore or to Touraine.
If I could spend the fall and winter in England, I might come
across some beautiful effects; I could arrange to work from a win-
dow in severe weather, not in London or Epping, of course, but in
the neighborhood.
Well, well ! If we hadn't made the mistake of buying the Eragny
Castle, how easy it would have been for all of us to stay in Eng-
land! ... I felt it at the time! But this is between the two of us!
Some day we'll have to take this up.
You are right, all in all, to follow your feeling when you paint.
The truth is that the various manifestations of art do not contra-
dict one another, there is always the same pivot. . . . But from a
practical point of view, it is necessary to produce a great many
works in order to become skilled. — What you tell me of your
modest will is somewhat like what papa Corot used to say to us :
/ have only a little flute, but I try to strike the right note.
PARIS, MARCH 1, 1894
My dear Lucien,
Georges werrt to meet Leboeuf and Nini to stroll along the
boulevards which are very lively. People are throwing confetti of
all colors and forming prismatic serpentines. It is very jolly.
I have been sad for some time about the death of my old friends.
Suffering from bronchitis, lately, I wasn't able to go to see de
Bellio's daughter; even Monet, whom I saw, couldn't tell me of
what poor de Bellio died. We have just lost still another sincere
and devoted friend : Caillebotte died suddenly of cerebral paralysis.
And he is one we can really mourn, he was good and generous, and
a painter of talent to boot.
235
PARIS, MARCH 4, 1894
My dear Lucien,
My show opened today and will close March 21 .*
I saw your two canvases at Contet's; they are very pretty. At
first sight I feel that you are still too close to my work; you should
try a different execution and be attentive to the general values. In
general your colorations lack something; from the way objects are
delimited one would say you practise tone division while first let-
ting your color dry, you are afraid to mix. If I were you I would
mix freely, I would not leave so many orange-colored commas. One
feels that you are inhibited, but where there is inhibition there
is no pleasure. Mix all elements. We must talk of that at greater
length.
Tell your wife that I shall of course come to Epping, but that
I shall have to work constantly, I have only a few more years to
live, and I must not waste my time while I still can see clearly and
feel nature intensely, if I am to conclude my life fittingly.
Yes, my dear Lucien, we are going one by one, in Indian file.
Our poor friend de Bellio and our comrade Caillebotte are gone.
Caillebotte was forty-six, de Bellio sixty-six. I have not yet learned
the circumstances of the latter's death. Yes, he was a true friend,
and so we are all saddened. I cannot pass La Maison Dor£e without
a melancholy glance, which seeks him mechanically, despite my
knowledge that he is gone. And poor Tanguy, that fine, upright,
good man !
I didn't go yesterday to the opening of my show, I was tired and
indisposed. Afterwards Durand senior came to my hotel and told
me that not a few of the art crowd had been at the exhibition. He
asked me for two or three pictures and informed me that several
pastels and watercolors had been sold, of those that are for sale.
There are few of these, most of them I prefer to keep. The little
canvases done in England in 1870 look admirable; they are ex-
tremely clear, and while not divisionist in execution, have fine
painting quality.
You will see in the neo-impressionist-shop-bazaar a large Cross
— it is frightful — unheard of!
1 Pissarro showed SO paintings, 23 watercolors, 14 pastels and 4 gouaches. The
prices for the paintings ranged from 1,800 to 4,500 francs.
236
PARIS, MARCH 7, 1894
My dear Lucien,
Nothing new in the arts. The bazaar is always very sad! — You
would do well to send canvases to Vollard, the little dealer, he is
intelligent and an enthusiast. His place compares most favorably
with the bazaar, which is so cold, formal, bourgeois.
ERAGNY, MARCH 14, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I have reason to be satisfied with my exhibition, from the artistic
point of view, of course. My friends were pleased, my figures done
in the studio won general favor. Mallarme told me I am younger
than ever, Degas and Monet much admired the same painting,
Potato Harvest in the Setting Sun [859], Geffroy wrote a splendid
article about me, Lecomte sent me a charming letter. As for the
financial angle, it may be none too brilliant, but after all these are
bad times, and then I may be told nothing . . . nothing. ... If
Durand takes all my work, it will mean the show had some success.
In that case I will have cause for satisfaction, let us be modest!
ERAGNY [APRIL, 1894]
My dear Lucien,
I am going to Paris next week. I will probably go to the exhibi-
tion of the I nde pendants which I see has opened. I also expect to
take in the Tanguy auction.1
The weather is very uncertain for the unhappy art of painting;
I am content to triturate indoors. I have done a whole series of
printed [lithographic] drawings in romantic style which seemed
to me to have a rather amusing side : Baigneuses, plenty of them,
in all sorts of poses, in all sorts of paradises. Interiors, too, Peasant
Women at Their Toilette, etc. Such are the motifs I work on when
1 After Tanguy 's death his collection was sold at auction. Very low prices were
gotten for his paintings, works by Cizanne, for example, brought from 45 to 21S
francs.
237
I can't go outdoors. It is very amusing because of the black and
white values which give the tone for pictures. I have retouched
some of them with color — if such lively woodcuts could be made,
that would be something ; especially in color.
PARISv APRIL 28, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I went to the Champ de Mars the day of the opening and also
to the show of the I nde pendants, which is being held in an annex
of the Palais des Arts. As in other years, nothing extraordinary at
the Champ de Mars, nothing, that is, besides Whistler and Puvis
de Chavannes. Whistler's Portrait of Montesquiou is very beauti-
ful, in gesture and rakish elegance, and it has great unity,
achieved, it is true, by tricks — a la Velasquez — rather than by
the methods proper to painting. Several marines hardly painted, a
blue note scarcely drawn, but very artistic, two little portraits of
ladies, quite pretty and full of character, the smallest of these be-
ing a real beauty.
Your canvases at the Independents are much better than those
at the Neos. A little pale, the skies especially, and the impaste is
disturbing when looked at closely, but there is great progress in
the whole. The canvases are a little less like mine, but there is still
some similarity in the ensemble. There is a lack of depth, which I
also find in your woodcuts.
General exhibition of Manet at Durand's — which can leave no
doubt of the painter's unimpeachable mastery. Soon there will be
an exhibition of Monet — the [Rouen] Cathedral series 1 — at last!
Our friend Feneon has just been arrested, it is alleged that he is
connected with some criminal organization. — What next? — Isn't
this the limit? 2
Luce told me that he wrote to you recently. He has a good show
at the I nde pendants, his works hang beside yours. There is nothing
1 See fig. 61.
2 Feneon, who had been employed editorially at the Ministire de la Guerre, was
arrested on April 26 and implicated in the famous trial of thirty anarchists, charged
with membership in a criminal organization and with having been in possession of
explosive bombs (probably provided by his friend, the terrorist Emile Henry, who had
just been executed). After a brilliant and courageous defense, Fdndon, with the other
accused, was acquitted on August 12.
238
extraordinary in the exhibition 5 some pretty studies by one Albert
Andre, they have the painter's touch and subtlety.
PARIS, APRIL 29, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I am mailing you some newspapers so that you can read the
account of the anarchist drama unfolding before the public, and
also a very sympathetic article on our friend Feneon by Mirbeau.
What an epoch ! What terrible events are in store, and what fright-
ful misery!
I shall go to Miss Cassatt's in the afternoon. We are much dis-
turbed by our lack of sales — nothing goes, that is of course the
general complaint.
Lately I read an interview with one of the main painters of the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The subject discussed was Caillebotte's col-
lection.1 The remarks made were stupid to the point of wonder.
. . . Gerome regards us as pimps! I will try to get the issues and
send them to you.
PARIS, MAY 9, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I am in Paris for a few days. I just learned that the exhibition
of Monet's Cathedrals will not be held; I am very vexed by this, I
came almost exclusively to see them.
I just went with Durand's son to see Renoir. I will not be able
to see the canvases of the Caillebotte estate for a fortnight. The lat-
1 His fortune had enabled the painter Gustave Caillebotte to help his colleagues of
the impressionist movement by buying their works, especially those considered "un-
saleable." The important collection that he had accumulated in this way he left to the
state, stipulating that it be accepted in its totality. Despite this provision, Renoir, one
of the executors of the will, was forced to yield to the objections of the curator of the
Luxembourg Museum, and only part of Caillebotte's collection was admitted. But
while only a restricted number of works by Pissarro, Cizanne, Degas, Renoir, etc.,
were accepted, the fact that impressionist works would enter a national museum
gave rise to vigorous protest. In April, 1894, the review L' Artiste, attempting by means
of a questionnaire to determine the general view, found that the Caillebotte donation
was considered "a heap of excrement whose exhibition in a national museum pub-
licly dishonors French art."
239
ter's collection has been packed away, and to sort such a quantity of
pictures covered with dust is a task for a slave.
As far as I can see, my spring has been a fiasco ... no way of
finishing anything. And I have been working from my window!
Miss Cassatt strongly urges me to show my etchings in color with
her in New York . . . but I am working on paintings at the
moment, I don't want to lose my good mood; and then if I go in
for that sort of thing, goodbye to painting in the open which Degas
ridicules so wittily.
ERAGNY, MAY 26, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I will go to Paris on Monday; Titi will join me there and I will
accompany him to Brussels. I will avail myself of this opportunity,
so long awaited, to see the beautiful collections of the Flemish
school. I will hardly have time to work there, for I am to stay only
until Titi is settled.
Neither Titi nor Georges have done much work here. They
think mostly of blowing false notes on a hunting horn and
bicycling through the country and other such pranks that hardly
advance their knowledge of values and colors.
Georges is very changeable and easily becomes discouraged. . . .
At such moments, no efforts! His excuse is that he is waiting for
sensations, the old theory of "inspiration." I have not yet been
able to convince him that inspiration, or rather sensation, has to
be enticed by regular work every day.
The weather is frightful, cold and windy; impossible to work
outdoors, so I am working on engravings : etchings in color.
PARIS, MAY 29, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I received a line from Theo van Rysselberghe this morning. I
at once replied that I would wait until he returned to Brussels be-
fore going there. I would like to visit Bruges and perhaps do some
canvases there; but I must not think of anything like that this
year, I am broke, completely broke. The trip to Brussels your
240
48. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of Paul Cezanne, 1874.
49. — P. Cezanne: Portrait of Camille Pissarro, about 1875.
50. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of Paul Cezanne, about 1874.
51. — C. Pissarro: Portrait of Paul Cezanne, 1874.
mother contemplates taking will simply empty my purse. And to
complete the picture, there is nothing suggesting hope on the hori-
zon : Portier is desperate, Durand is silent and secretive, Boussod
simply doesn't exist. . . . The problem is to go on, and despite these
hardly encouraging prospects, make works of art full of sensation,
wholly uncommercial, satisfactory to both artist and collector; I
should really like to see how the symbolists cried up by the young
poet Mauclair would deal with such a situation. Mauclair the
poet campaigns against me and against Guillaumin; he has a hor-
ror of painters who see in art nothing but impaste and cabbages.1
What would the Gothic artists say, who so loved cabbages and
artichokes and knew how to make of them such natural and sym-
bolic ornaments? Words, words . . . and they control everything.
Gauguin is behind this. Farceur and trickster!
I think you are right; if one wants to plant roses on a bad soil
one has to add the necessary elements to the soil, but that is ex-
tremely difficult and the roses will never, I presume, be like those
grown in proper soil. I fear that this is a result of our troubled
times. We should not despair, however; the age of reason is not
entirely here yet. I do hope that the time will come when the love
of work will erase the tendency to decry everything, to see only
one, the ridiculous side of things, without adding the redeeming
character and kindness which, in art, have brought about a
Daumier.
ERAGNY, JUNE 18, 189+
My dear Lucien,
I leave tomorrow, Tuesday, if time permits, for Paris. I will
be there for two or three days at most. Your mother will join us,
that is Felix and me, and we will take the train for Brussels. But
the truth is, the miserable weather here makes everything uncer-
tain, the season is getting on all the while, and it is necessary to
1 Camille Mauclair, the successor to Gauguin's friend, Charles Morice, on the
Mercure de France, published in that review art criticisms of a pretentious character,
launching insolent attacks on all the great contemporary painters. He saw in neo-
impressionism a trifling technitjue, referred to Gauguin's art as colonial, spoke of the
gangsterism of Lautrec, poured out his scorn for Cezanne, and treated Pissarro with
pity. However, when the painters he slandered had died, their greatness established,
Mauclair did not scruple to add his voice to the general expressions of admiration.
241
come to a decision. We shall see whether the sun is sulky in Brus-
sels, too. I am taking enough equipment to do two or three months'
work; it will be necessary to work constantly and to good purpose,
and I hope nothing goes awry. I have just enough money to pay our
expenses, after that I will be penniless. But I don't see any other
alternative.
PARIS, JUNE 25, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I believe that in Bruges I should concentrate on watercolors. I
will no doubt begin several large canvases in the studio which I
will complete in Eragny; I am afraid I can't work properly on
canvases of 28 x 23 and 36 x 28 inches while travelling. I would
like to make some carefully executed paintings.
At this moment there is a great noise about a Turner which
Sydelmeyer wants to sell to the Louvre for two or three hundred
thousand francs. The whole thing is a machination of dealers and
collectors. So an exhibition of the English school is being heldj
some superb Reynolds, several very beautiful Gainsboroughs ; two
Turners belonging to Groult which are quite beautiful, and the
Turner they want to "give" to the Louvre, which is not beautiful,
far from it!
BRUSSELS, HOTEL DE SUEDE, JUNE 26, 1894
My dear Lucien,
We arrived in Brussels last night.
I met Theo van Rysselberghe at the station and we expect him
this morning. We will probably be here for a week, and Theo will
remain for that time, too. He will go with us to Bruges. Brussels
and its outskirts seem to me to have character j while on the train
we saw some dazzling motifs.
Nothing new except the assassination of President Carnot,1 an
event which cannot fail to complicate things in France. How will
1 The assassination of the President of the French Republic by an Italian anarchist
was to lead to further persecutions of the anarchists.
242
all this turn out? The poor painters will certainly not be unaffected.
Theo has just come in and sends you his regards.
Your mother and Felix are well and the three of us embrace
you.
BRUSSELS, HOTEL DE SUEDE, JUNE 27, 1894
My dear Lucien,
We have arranged with Theo to leave Brussels on Friday for
Antwerp, but we shall not stay there ; the very evening of the day
we arrive, we shall make for Ghent, from where we shall set out
again for Bruges and take in the country on its outskirts. In this
way I can find a suitable spot. We shall see Knocke-sur-mer. When
we are settled, I shall let you know the place.
We began several sketches by the canal 5 it is quite interesting,
but we are not settled and so can't do much.
We are all quite well. Your mother went to the woods with
Felix, I am waiting here for Vandevelde.
BRUGES, HOTEL DU SINGE D'OR, JULY 6, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I have been back since Monday. On Tuesday your mother left
for Brussels; she is returning to France. All I have done so far is
make a few watercolors; the country is remarkably beautiful, but
for some time Titi has not been too well. He had some trouble with
his stomach when we left Paris; leaving Brussels with van Ryssel-
berghe we were as gay and lively as could be, at Antwerp, at Ghent,
here and at Knocke one tends to be too active; Titi went bathing
with Th£o, and this must have aggravated his condition, he came
home tired out, with a headache, burning eyes and a cold that
worried me no end. What disturbs me most in all this is that Titi
is bored here and doesn't want to remain in Belgium. What to do?
The problem is to see that he finds something to suit him, but
where? It is true that he has some reason for being dissatisfied here,
considering his distress, but just the same I fear no good will come
of it. I don't think it possible to return to Eragny at the moment.
How can I work?
243
KNOCKE, HOTEL DE BRUGES, JULY 15, 1894
My dear Lucien,
Don't trust this country of Belgium to the extent of mentioning
events which disturb everyone, the plain bourgeois and the most
ferocious anarchists : the terror of the Panamaites is so great that
just to mention the name makes them furious. We received (that
is Theo did) a letter from Charpentier giving us news of Luce.1
Our friends are attending to his wife who had a baby. To cap their
misfortunes, she has just been taken back to the hospital with an
abscessed breast. I didn't dare write our friend Georges Lecomte,
fearing to cause him grief, for truly, no matter how innocent you
are, you may cause a lot of trouble to your friends without meaning
to. I don't receive the newspapers here, it is impossible to get them,
and so I am no longer in touch with events.
Titi is much improved since we came. We have begun to work
in the periods between the bad weather. Theo is really wonderful
to us and does everything he can to make our stay pleasant.
I have such anxieties about the future that I am afraid my
paintings will be affected. Just conceive that the collectors in Paris
are so dismayed by events that they won't hear art spoken of now,
in America it is even worse, nothing, nothing! . . . Miss Cassatt
says it is simply due to the election, and that the situation will be
restored when the new group comes in! Which is to say that new
pickpockets will replace the old! . . . There's consolation for you!
However it is the plain truth.
KNOCKE, NEAR BRUGES, JULY 30, 1894
My dear Lucienf
I have been back from our excursion to Zeeland since Friday
night. At Middleburg I saw those women's costumes and the
charming children of which you spoke with such enthusiasm.
They have, in fact, extraordinary aesthetic beauty, I can say that
we really have been tipsy with the local color, atmosphere and
extremely primitive style of this little corner of Holland. Elisee
1 Maximilien Luce, who with Fdndon, Signac, Mirbeau, Grave, Elisde Reclus and
many others belonged to the group of anarchist intellectuals around Pissarro, had
just been arrested.
244
Reclus, Theo, Felix and I have spent two enchanting days : we
went as far as Westcapelle, the extreme point of the island of
Walgrave, so abundantly fertile that it reminds me in a way of the
islands surrounding St. Thomas. At Veere I saw motifs for superb
landscapes, the butter markets of Middleburg under great trees;
what a picture!
I am afraid I shall be forced to remain abroad for some time.
Since the last law passed by the French Chamber, it is absolutely
impossible for anybody to feel safe. Consider that a concierge is
permitted to open your letters, that a mere denunciation can land
you across the frontier or in prison and that you are powerless to
defend yourself! Our friends have successively left France. Mir-
beau, Paul Adam, Bernard Lazare, Steinlen, Hamont were to be
arrested, they managed to escape in time; poor Luce was caught,
probably someone denounced him. And since I don't trust certain
persons in Eragny who dislike us, I shall remain abroad. I wrote
to Durand-Ruel to this effect and to ask if he wants me to send
him some paintings.
I haven't done badly here, I have seven or eight canvases going.
KNOCKE, NEAR BRUGES, AUGUST 9, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I arrive from Brussels with Rodolphe. You ask if I have been
as upset j of course, I have had horrible fears lately. I am hardly in
a better state tnan you are, but I make every possible effort to
triumph over these afflictions. They are inevitable for whoever is
concerned for his family, friends and art! But one must fight
bravely.
I made the acquaintance here of some young painters from
Munich who are very enthusiastic about the impressionists and
who asked me to exhibit in Munich, where I have some supporters
and a few collectors. I think I will have to have an exhibition there,
here in Brussels there is nothing, nothing can be accomplished in
the way of selling. So I may go to Munich. I didn't tell you that
Durand wrote he would be delighted to remain on good terms with
me, but business has been so disastrously dismal, he will have to
lower my prices. So I will try my luck in Munich, I will write you
about this at greater length. What disturbs me is the expense of
245
frames and transportation. All the same I will send some canvases
to Durand.
As for my nudes, I am not satisfied ; I didn't have all the data I
needed, I didn't succeed in rendering the character I had in mind.
We shall see if I can find what I want in Brussels.
[KNOCKE, AUGUST, 1894]
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you a hundred francs, if you want to come don't
delay. I have still two canvases to finish, which will take at least
eight days. If you come at once you will find me still here. The
four large canvases I finished will have to be dispatched at the
earliest possible moment to Durand.
KNOCKE, AUGUST 21, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I am happy to be able to inform you that our friend Luce was
released Friday; Theo brought the news this morning and let me
read your letter.
Your mother writes that something extraordinary has hap-
pened: Edline wants to repurchase the house. I wrote your mother
to ask a stiff price, and in any case to consider whether, if the deal
went through, we should not settle down in the outskirts of Lon-
don, since the whole family will inevitably be there. I am almost
certain that your mother will not consent. In any case we would
be able to return to Pontoise and yet have our home with a studio
in London, or rather in the outskirts. Thus we could give the little
ones a good education. This solution would not alter our situation
with regard to the dealers. Here the difficulties are the same as in
France, however in Theo and his family we have such devoted
friends that I would really hate not to stay. It is a pity!
246
[KNOCKE] SEPTEMBER 5, 1894
My dear Lucien,
The truth is I don't know when I will return to France. I have
finished four large canvases of about 28 x 23 inches; I had my
troubles with these, the weather was so abominable; I have three
more canvases of about 25 x 21 inches to finish and would like
to make up for lost time by starting on several others. It is very
hard to do anything good when one's sessions are so often inter-
rupted. It is this, no doubt, which makes me so indecisive and dis-
contented. Moreover, Durand's behavior worries me; I keep on
announcing to him that I have a series of paintings, I have not yet
received an answer and so I am still in the dark. To make matters
worse, I find my studies very poor. Could I return to France safely?
I don't know at all. I notice that a number of the militant figures
have left. It seems to me that I, who am absolutely of no im-
portance and participate in no actions of any kind, should have
nothing to fear; but as you point out, thers is always a threat of
some sort.
After meeting Lucien in Brussels, Camilla fissarro decided to
re-enter France while Lucien returned to his family in England.
Rodolphe went with his father to Eragny, while Felix, who had
been joined by Georges, remained with Theo van Rysselberghe at
Hemixem near Antwerp. Before leaving Camille Pissarro left some
of the paintings he had done in Belgium with Octave Maus, di-
rector of La Libre Esth^tique in Brussels, who thought he could
sell them.
PARIS, OCTOBER 14, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I leave at 3 :40 for Eragny. Viau is lending me just enough to
send Georges and Titi, with just a little left over for the house.
I expected Portier to advance me something, too, but he has been
away for fifteen days. I have been to Durand's; I saw Durand
junior, but I didn't mention my four pictures. I am playing dead,
247
I am waiting to see what will happen. Business has been terrible
this year.
I haven't much news for you, unless in the following there is
some justification for hope : Monet has refused to lower the prices
of his Cathedrals, he is asking fifteen thousand francs for each of
them! Durand can't be happy about that. I must be a poor sort in-
deed for him to kick about my modest prices ! I have had no news
from Germany and I have not heard from Octave Maus.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 21, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I haven't brilliant news for you — black poverty and not a ray
of hope on the horizon. On the contrary, Portier sends back all my
canvases and writes me that the collectors don't ask for my work;
the American he was expecting arrived sure enough, but what he
wanted was a Manet. I met Vollard in Paris, he told me the story
of this American who came to Paris to find a beautiful Manet and
was willing to pay any price if the painting met his expectations.
All the dealers were exhausted from continual searching in every
corner for the pearl. Finally this nabob purchased the Woman
With Guitar from Durand-Ruel for 75,000 francs. Amazement
far and wide! ... In this affair I feel the hand of Faure, Durand
and Co.; they have that kind of slyness!
More gossip : all Paris is buzzing about the prices Monet is ask-
ing for his Cathedrals ,• Durand would like to buy the series as a
whole, but Monet wants fifteen thousand francs for each painting.
They quarrel, more gossip. The collectors say Monet is wrong. For
example, people want to see the paintings before America gets
them. Ah, there is such love of painting in this period! It is dis-
couraging to think of.
Viau wrote me requesting an introduction to Monet, he would
like to see his series of Cathedrals. I must ask Monet if this is
agreeable to him. So I may go to Giverny any day now; I will have
to tell him that I still can't pay him, that Durand takes none of my
work.
Happily we are all very well, although very sad, too.
248
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 4, 1894
I am very glad to see you in such a vigorous frame of mind, my
dear Lucien, the situation, undeniably painful, but not irremedi-
able, does not call for despair. For after all, it is because I decided
not to give in that I find myself empty-handed 5 1 should only have
to take up Durand's last words to me for the war to stop! Didn't
he say to me : "If you wish to send some canvases of Eragny to my
son, we can come to an agreement, that is, if you lower your
prices considerably." I am waiting for some miraculous chance.
For the moment my hopes are limited to Miss Cassatt's recom-
mendations to Miss Hollowell, whom I knew and who I am sure
loves my work, but has not yet gotten anything of mine sold.
However she has done much for other impressionist painters. I
should also make the acquaintance of Mr. Chase, the well-known
collector from New York, etc., etc. But none of this is quickly done.
Why don't they come to me of themselves, as to the others? For I
have been recommended already and even presented. Someone is
barring my way, that is almost sure. Your mother says it is because
my ideas don't suit them. But my pictures are not the worse be-
cause of my ideas. Yes, I seek here and there for a solution and
do not find one, although it seems right near me and easy to grasp.
I hardly count any longer on the Dresden exhibition : this is
why : I made M. Morawe these conditions, he was to buy several
of my paintings at dealer's prices. I think it would be idiotic to go
there and struggle for the sake of a dealer's beautiful eyes; he will
get the admission fees while I would receive only platonic praises
which are quite unable to allay the pangs of hunger. If he refuses,
I will try elsewhere, perhaps in New York. This can't be done
recklessly, considering that Durand could do me a lot of harm,
Durand is a man who has to be handled.
— Miss Cassatt writes me that she has seen my canvases of
Knocke [880—892], she admires them no end, especially The Mill
[882 or 883] ; it is not from this quarter that criticism comes, I
know that. There must be an element of nature in my canvases
which hurts certain aesthetes. Naturally when I go for the first
time to a country that has a distinct character, I have to analyze
what I see carefully, I cannot embroider, I cannot give myself over
to my fantasy, as in a country I know by heart. Hence the severe
and dry quality, which, incidentally, will finally please by its very
sincerity. Miss Cassatt tells me I have had much success in Chicago
249
and that everything I do ought to sell. Now that is past under-
standing!
PARIS, NOVEMBER 17, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I believe this crisis will soon be over, it is not possible to con-
tinue the struggle. I came from Durand-Ruel's; I went there with
the intention of asking him if he would like to come to an agree-
ment. The son Georges (for the father is in New York) said, as he
came over to me, "I was just going to write you, Monsieur Pis-
sarro!" Thus a graceful introduction to the matter at hand was
facilitated. We came to an agreement, and I am writing instruc-
tions to Eragny that he be sent a series of Eragny works which, I
hope, will be acceptable.
Between the two of us (don't breathe a word at home of what
follows) , I am not displeased to end this struggle, the situation was
becoming untenable. In addition to absolute lack of funds and to
concern for your brothers in Belgium, I had to put up with inces-
sant arguments at home. You yourself were the cause, innocently,
of course, of heated squabbles about the inability of all of you to
earn money. In your letter to your mother you took her side,
agreeing that it would have been better to have learned a trade. But
you also said that you have three trades, but that you pursued them
too intelligently and that you are unable — because of your very
conscientiousness and zeal for perfection — to profit by them. To
do so you would have had to remain a tradesman or a chromatist!
Would you have been better off? Your mother says yes.
In your letters to your mother make no allusions to trades. I can
say nothing more to you about this tiresome matter, and besides,
when the crisis is over, I hope it will be partly settled.
An article has appeared (most timely) by a critic, M. Francis
Jourdain, asking with the utmost seriousness how it comes that the
"precurseur," the "old painter who never compromised," has not
been decorated ! I wanted to write him that I didn't care the slight-
est bit to be decorated. What would be the good of it?
The check I am sending you is from the money your mother
borrowed at Eragny.
250
PARIS, NOVEMBER 22, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I dropped in at Durand-Ruel's this morning to discuss terms.
The son, Georges Durand, is hesitant about taking my canvases at
the reductions I made. Here are the previous prices :
I proposed :
canvas of 36 x 28 inches 2,500 francs 2,000 francs
canvas of 31 x 25 inches 2,000 francs 1,500 francs
canvas of 28 x 23 inches 2,000 francs 1,000 francs
canvas of 25 x 21 inches 1,500 francs 1,000 francs
canvas of 21 x 18 inches 1,000 francs 800 francs
9,000 francs 6,300 francs
On five canvases I lowered my prices to the tune of 2,700 francs.
He hesitates and wants to think it over. Unfortunately I haven't
the means to hold out long; however, I was visited in Eragny by an
American painter, a woman, a friend of Monet's, who is very
enthusiastic about my work. She asked me for paintings to show
to Americans, I let her have three canvases. This lady, who has real
prestige, introduced me to Mr. Shaw, a great lover of Millet and
Corot, who has a very fine collection purchased directly from these
two masters — he hates all dealers, especially Durand, and com-
plains, not without reason, that the dealers have assumed the task
of governing tastes and of showing only those paintings they think
are salable. This Mr. Shaw could be a base of support in a strug-
gle against Durand, but this will take time. I think he may be of
use in the future, but I can't wait and I must agree to Durand's
reductions. You may be sure that if I were not pressed I would
refuse so categorically that he would be forced to reconsider.
For several days now quite a few Americans have gone to
Durand's to see my paintings ; this development may be attributed
to the American colony in Paris. I notice now that Durand is
obviously undecided. If I had only several thousand francs, I am
almost sure I would get the upper hand without lowering my
prices by one centime, for I cannot help noting with astonishment
the gap between my sales and my reputation — which is great.
I know perfectly well that my Peasant Woman is too pretty,
this is nothing new. For it is only by working carefully that I get
251
what I am after. It wouldn't be a bad idea to send it back to me, I
will retouch it. I will send you several small figures, but these oil
paintings are on the verge of becoming pretty, I rework them
incessantly — a very delicate kind of work, which is only possible
in moments of great clarity of vision, moments which are blotted
out by the cares and vexations of the day. So I am damned sus-
picious of my work! For more than eight months I have been
after a peasant woman of grand stature crossing a brook [900].
How I have worked on it! It won't look right in less than twelve
years !
As soon as I have something, I will send it on to you. I have
something which I think will be satisfactory, a Little Peasant Girl
Soaking Her Feet [903], but it will have to lie around [in the
studio] for the present ; although it is finished, it lacks — well,
something! I do think I will get it right, I feel that I will!
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 30, 1894
«
My dear Lucien,
Your prints are really beautiful although I knew them, they
have been a surprise. I hope they will be successful} considering the
difficulties that had to be overcome, these works are indeed deserv-
ing of praise. I know well the pains you had to take to obtain those
faded grey tones; especially since I began to try etchings in color;
I made some prints that came out as grey as gouaches, but un-
fortunately I spoiled so many; and I am dissatisfied with my draw-
ing, which was defective and would have required considerable
scratching out to set right the forms. It is too absorbing and not
worth the trouble.
I have begun some figures, canvases of about 18x15 inches; I
shall do a number of these, for these deuced studio paintings seem
to go on forever. I still have on the easel my Peasant Woman Cross-
ing a Brook [900] , which I wanted to send you, but I cannot get it
to satisfy me. I began it last winter, I worked like a beaver, and
scraped it so much that it was often unrecognizable. I will have to
work on it for a while from nature to get it in shape.
Did I write you that Portier, the picture of contrition, informed
me in a piteous tone that he sold two small Knocke [canvases],
directly after receiving my trunk of paintings which Maus showed
252
to all his Belgian friends without being able to place any at 1,500
francs. In Paris, I sold a canvas of 21 x 18 inches at that price and
one of 25 x 21 inches for 2,000 francs. If other sales are made, I
will send you a little more for your publication. At the moment it
is difficult, for there are many old debts to be paid here and in
Paris.
The boys are settled in Brussels; it costs much less to live there
than in London.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 14, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I am working on a canvas of about 21 x 18 inches, it is of a
young peasant girl rising to arrange her hair [864]. It is well
advanced, but it will have to lie around in the studio for a while.
Did I tell you that I am sending four or five pictures to Dresden?
M. Morawe insisted on having whatever I could send, so I decided
to send him for the exhibition he will hold in February the fol-
lowing canvases — although I may make some last minute changes :
My Knocke Sunset [888] ;
Peasant Woman Soaking Her Feet in a River [903] ;
Cowgirl [823], which I showed at the exhibition of 1892,
which I reworked and which is now superb, I think;
The Flood, which belongs to your mother.
We can have a try at exhibiting paintings next year at van
Wisseling's [in London] . To do this it would be necessary to repeat
what I tried with Thomson, that is, to do several good canvases in
London next spring and add to these several figure paintings done
in the studio which I will have time to perfect here.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 27, 1894
My dear Lucien,
I must confess that I find Shannon's nudes — I can see that he
has plenty of talent, thank God! — I find his nudes the least bit
too studied, too deliberate. How explain this impression other than
that my vision is defective? It is probably owing to my having
made very few drawings of nudes. Just the same Degas never
253
strikes me that way, Puvis de Chavannes sometimes, in fact, often.
What saves the former is a certain ignorance or awkwardness, by
which he achieves a real feeling for the nude. I don't know whether
this is clear to you.
Would you believe that I lately received a letter from a certain
M. Mathias Morhardt asking me on behalf of various admirers of
Puvis de Chavannes to be a member of the Committee of art lovers
who are holding a banquet in his honor! You know how opposed
I am to these ceremonies. Annoyed and embarrassed, all the more
so because I admire Puvis de Chavannes, I didn't know how to get
out of it; the devil, so much the worse for them, I thought, and I
wrote this gentleman frankly that I was very unyielding when it
came to any sort of ceremony and that despite my admiration for
the artist I would have to ask him to be good enough to call on
someone else, although I was not unmindful of the great honor
done me. It appears that Rodin is president of the Committee; I
will send my subscription just the same.
254
18 9 5
PARIS, JANUARY 9, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Theo [van Rysselberghe] is in Paris with his wife, an exhibition
of his work has opened at the Neos. The ensemble is what you
know : large portraits showing a rare talent for physiognomy but
spoiled by the pernicious practice of systematic employment of the
dot. Very beautiful drawings of nudes, for instance, very large and
with an attractive line, charming pastels full of character. Theo is
very gifted ; I am afraid he will persist for some time yet in this
terrible and cold manner of execution, which has value only if one
looks at works exclusively from the point of view of conscientious-
ness and stubborn toil. It is a great pity, for he would be a rare
painter, no doubt of it.
ERAGNY, JANUARY 14, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Theo and his wife spent two days here, you can imagine how
we raked up paintings, drawings, engravings, discussed various
theories, including the theory of the dot. I should really like to see
Theo rid himself of these shackles that make his painting cold and
inanimate, when he has such real talent as a painter and drafts-
man. . . . But I am afraid that his friendship for Signac makes him
light-headed; it is strange that the technique doesn't bother them!
The method, as I told him, is good only for mosaics, and thus there
would be no reason to strive for modeling, it would be a purely
decorative art, with what beautiful matiere!
255
Theo thought my etchings very beautiful, the paintings, too,
including the nudes. He said something that pleases me partic-
ularly, if indeed he really felt it. He said my nudes were com-
pletely outside the formula of the schools and had an outdoor and
real peasant quality.
On arriving from Paris I found your pretty announcement for
The Queen of the Fishes} It is delightful and the little woodcut is
both charming and in harmony with the letters. Theo found it
superb. In short, it is art.
It is very likely that after my Dresden exhibition I will have one
in Berlin. M. Stremel, the painter of Knocke-sur-mer, wrote me
proposing this.
I should like to send you a canvas or two, but I'm afraid they
are not yet ready. I am working on them all the time. I will soon
have a large canvas, about 31 x 25 inches, an old work, which you
know. It was exhibited at Theo van Gogh's, but was cold and
systematic in execution. I recast it and redesigned it from a model}
I think it will be satisfactory.
ERAGNY, JANUARY 18, 1895
My dear Lucien,
We can continue Les Travaux des Champs, as to Daphnis and
Chloe, I am ready to make the twelve drawings, and if you design
a nice fount of type, it will be superb. If I don't often mention the
drawings for Les Travaux des Champs it is because I have so many
things on my mind, many a tiresome problem including the prob-
lem of earning money. Consider that at this moment I have about
twenty canvases going, studies of very fugitive effects, which I
would like to work on at my leisure, nudes which give me no end
of trouble (my model having quit without any idea of returning),
etchings in color, and with all this, no sales, not to speak of the
grave political situation 5 troubles enough, no? I don't know how
I'll manage the nudes for the Daphnis and Chloe, they are indis-
1 The Queen of the Fishes, the first work illustrated and printed by Lucien Pissarro,
was not exactly a book, but a kind of album, the pages were printed on just one side
and were bound as in Chinese books. The text was written in hand and reproduced
by photographic plates. It was a first effort, and by it Lucien gained experience in
the craft.
256
52. — A. Renoir: Portrait of Paul Durand-Ruel, 1910.
53. — P. Cezanne: Portrait of Ambroise Vollard, 1899.
54. — Illustration for Daphnis and Chloe. Drawn by Camille and cut on
wood by Lucien Pissarro, about 1895.
pensable. Well, we shall see, but it seems difficult to do properly
without consulting nature.
The shop on the rue Laffitte is still there but has been com-
pletely changed j the Neos have broken up. Moline is renting out
the shop for small exhibitions. Th£o is the last Neo to have an ex-
hibition as a member of the group.
I received my colored plates, I had had them steeled. I will send
you soon a fine print of my Little Peasant Girls in the Grass and a
Market in black, retouched with tints ; I think some excellent things
can be made in this way. ... It has no resemblance to Miss Cassatt,
it involves nothing more than retouching with colors, that is all. I
have already gotten some fine proofs; it is very difficult to find just
the right colors.
The banquet for Puvis de Chavannes took place yesterday.
257
Brunetiere, the Academician, wanted to talk about art and, it
seems, talked stupidly; he was hissed! I think I was wise not to
attend. Poor Puvis, I am really sorry for him. . . . But what if he
really likes that sort of thing?
ERAGNY, JANUARY 19, 1895
M y dear Lucien,
Yesterday I wrote you about drawings for Daphnis and Chloe; I
have a new idea : why not make the drawings yourself? With your
own drawing you can really call attention to your gifts, which are
going to get some recognition with The Queen of the Fishes and
the Ruth.1 It would be very imprudent of you to engrave my draw-
ings. And in my opinion my drawing is not entirely suited for
woodcuts. I think it would be a sheer waste, and if successful, I
would be the one to benefit — that is not desirable. Well, think it
over and see if it isn't better to address yourself boldly to making,
as for The Queen of the Fishes, a harmonious work, all your own.
It seems that the State has definitely refused to accept the Caille-
botte bequest. Now what do you think of that? What a pity Caille-
botte didn't provide for its being offered to some foreign country in
the event that France refused it. That would have been a real slap
in the face.
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 14, 1895
My dear Lucien,
The impressionists, except for Monet and Degas, seem to be
losing ground, there is a widespread attitude of indifference that is
very disturbing. So if you can get van Wisseling to handle my
paintings, that will be all to the good. From all indications my ex-
hibition in Dresden is likely to be another disappointment; I have
not heard a word from the dealer, M. Morawe; he has sent me
neither an announcement of the opening nor a catalogue. It is
wonderful how they mock us! I promised to send these paintings
1 Lucien was then preparing the Book of Ruth and the Book of Esther, which,
printed in Vale type, was to appear in 1896.
258
to Berlin, but I suppose that will be another hoax of the same sort.
And into the bargain they may find the paintings horrid! It will
be like in Brussels. . . .
Did you receive Geffroy's brochure? He urges the municipality
to make an attempt to get the artists, collectors, mayors and ad-
visers to organize neighborhood museums so as to win the workers
to things of taste and bring them to abandon their unfortunate
penchant for trash. This good Geffroy is right, what is needed is
a small scale Kensington Museum in each neighborhood. But I
wonder whether this would be enough to educate the poor to a
taste for art or love of it! As long as he has the capitalist and
wretched wages to contend with, the worker will regard the beauti-
ful with derision. ... It is the buyers we must educate.
Did I write you that I received a letter from the curator of the
Luxembourg Museum asking me to appraise the six paintings
[of mine] which were chosen from Caillebotte's collection, but he
adds that this is just in case the interested parties should come to
agree. What a gang of idiots! I wrote that I would reply when I go
to Paris and look at this collection, which I have lost sight of for
fifteen years.
Sunday
On the subject of the application of decorative art to industry,
more than ever on the order of the day, I want you to know that
La Rdvue Encyclopedique has devoted several articles to the ques-
tion. F. Regamey, among others, makes the judicious observation
— we have often said the same — that those who have taken up this
venture evince an extraordinary lack of taste. Thus the Union
Centrale des Arts Decoratifs issues a plan (printed in very meager
type on horrible paper ornamented with tail-pieces that have been
used for years in all the commercial publications) and warmly
enjoins young artists to imitate the English, who try, in all cir-
cumstances, to please and not offend the eyes of people of taste
(sic!) !!! Regamey concludes with this rather comical outburst:
Arbiters of good taste, be watchful ! America and England are only
waiting for you to slip! Patriotism makes it your duty to — etc.,
etc. . . . Amazing, no?
Then there is a well documented article by Jean Lahor, on
William Morris and the decorative arts in England. This author
describes for us the birth of Pre-Raphaelism and the art of Morris.
259
In a typical passage he says that at chromo-lithography we are as
good as, and even better than, the English, and points to Boussod &
Valadon! He speaks of Ricketts, and especially of Beardsley who
gives promise of artistic greatness; in regard to etchings he men-
tions Whistler and Seymour Haden, but no French artists. Damn
it, this Lahor does not know the etchings of Degas! He says, for
instance — it is perfectly true — that there is no lack of men of
talent in France, what is lacking is the cohesion to form a tendency.
It seems to me that everything that could possibly discourage art
tendencies has been done, just think among other instances of the
impressionists who would have been able to achieve a real synthesis
if the young men had been able to earn a livelihood with some ease.
Slogans and patriotic exhortations in concluding. Really, they
understand nothing.
PARIS, FEBRUARY 19, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I am going to Caillebotte's house at two o'clock to see my pic-
tures and make a selection for the Luxembourg; this morning, at
Camondo's,1 I shall see Monet's Cathedrals; he [Camondo] has
three of them, he paid 15,000 francs for each; — I have been to
Durand's, he was very friendly. I didn't bring up business ques-
tions. I am so discouraged by what I am doing and by the indif-
ference the collectors show for my work that I have become much
too timid. When I see the paintings of others, my own appear so
poor and weak!
PARIS, FEBRUARY 24, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I received a letter from Dresden announcing that the exhibition
will close in the first week of March : the dealer is no doubt afraid
that I won't pay for the frames he had made : the cost, I believe,
comes to 400 bucks! And as a result people found my work inter-
1 Count Isaac de Camondo had an important collection of impressionist paintings
which he later bequeathed to the Louvre and which today fills several rooms of that
museum. Pissarro is represented in this collection by two canvases [f40, 867],
260
esting, he informs me! Small comfort! Just imagine if I had sent
thirty pictures and thirty or more pastels and etchings! I was wise
to content myself with sending only five canvases. It will be the
same story in Berlin. Why should people there be interested in my
paintings when even in Paris where I am known, known by every-
body, people scorn or don't understand them. Moreover, as a re-
sult of this incomprehension I myself am ending up by wondering
whether my work isn't poor and empty, without a hint of talent.
It is said that money is scarce, but that is only relatively true;
doesn't Monet sell his work, and at very high prices, don't Renoir
and Degas sell? No, like Sisley, I remain in the rear of the impres-
sionist line.
[PARIS] FEBRUARY 28, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I am leaving at eleven o'clock, very morose and bitter, for I have
not been able to get even a little money. I am leaving without a
cent, it is sad, and the fact is that I am so keyed up for work, for
Paris gave me a lift, and I have conceived a whole project for
future work. I am awaiting with impatience the trifling sale which
Camondo should arrange for me with King Milan. It won't amount
to much and God knows if it will come off, although the two things
I sent him [a gouache and a pastel] seem to me not so bad.
What you write about the progress of the impressionists abroad
is only too true ; evidently we were dropped before arriving ! But I
remark this, a consoling fact, there has been a great and real
change. The symbolists here are finished. Gauguin, who is their
foremost figure, has just had a serious set-back; his sale was very
poor.1 Without Degas, who purchased several canvases, it would
have been still worse. Speaking of Gauguin, I discussed him with
Degas lately. Degas made this characteristic remark :
"My dear fellow, I have a certain liking for what he does,
although I am not at all blind to his tricks."
"Well," I said, "I, too, know that Gauguin has talent. Didn't I
1 jit the sale organized by Gauguin on February 18, 189 S, before his second and
final departure for Tahiti, the sum obtained for about fifty paintings hardly ex-
ceeded 15,000 francs; the average price for each picture was thus about 346 francs.
261
tell you so long ago? But don't you grant that he is too much of a
trickster?"
Incidentally, this was once Degas' opinion.
Curiously enough, his own pupils are beginning to drop him
and returning to good and simple nature. One of them, S£guin,
who has just had a show at Le Bare de Boutteville, admitted to me
that he had been barking up the wrong tree and that I was com-
pletely right. He paid me the greatest compliments for my etch-
ings and figure paintings. Moreover, there is a coterie of young
artists who claim to be followers of mine; Agar, Labusquere, etc.,
who exhibit at Moline's, consider me their leader. I feel — do I
deceive myself? — that I am seriously understood by some of the
young artists, and it is interesting to note that neither Monet nor
Renoir are followed. Their work is counter to Gothic French art.
PARIS, MARCH 6, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Still in Paris, because I want to attend the funeral of our old
comrade Berthe Morisot, who died after an attack of influenza. You
can hardly conceive how surprised we all were and how moved,
too, by the disappearance of this distinguished woman, who had
such a splendid feminine talent and who brought honor to our
impressionist group which is vanishing — like all things. Poor
Madame Morisot, the public hardly knows her! It is just specula-
tion now that makes reputations and gives one glory, fortune some-
times, but often poverty.
Let us talk about that, about poverty! It is still here, no? I am
waiting for the fifteen hundred miserable francs from the King
Milan who, I think, is going to find my prices exorbitant. I had to
borrow four hundred francs for the boys in Brussels. Your mother
is furious because they don't earn any money, and this is under-
standable. She says it is my fault, that I maintain them in idleness,
that they are not working, etc., etc. In short she concludes that we
ought to get Rodolphe a place with a banker or a notary so that he
can earn money right away. Yes, and then? — Your mother doesn't
understand that if I put Rodolphe with a banker or a notary he
would give it up altogether one day as a result of not liking the
work and not learning anything. A waste of time ! What I should
262
have liked, and what you alone have accomplished, would have
been for the boys to learn enough about art to be able to mate
either books or furniture, chairs, tables, or jewels . . . but damn
it, one must have real understanding of art, and that takes a long
time to learn and is taught nowhere! However, nothing has been
lost, some day I hope to see the boys working in one of the applied
arts.
I asked Rodolphe to send you the newspapers in which you will
see the letter of Strindberg, the Norwegian dramatist, to Gauguin,
and the latter's reply.1 This author has a poor opinion of the im-
pressionists, he understands no one but Puvis de Chavannes. That's
the thing, it is always the Greek, the Renaissance, against the tra-
dition of French Gothic! For we are nearer to the French Gothic,
especially Degas!
ERAGNY, MARCH 23, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Did you know, it is very possible that Durand will start a branch
in London? It is absolutely necessary for me to know if he will, for
van Wisseling won't dare compete with him in handling impres-
sionists ; none of the other dealers did.
I have three etchings in color, I am ready to pull some proofs. I
was interrupted by the arrival of — you'll never guess — Francisco
Oiler,2 who came here from Puerto Rico to enter a very large
painting, more than four yards in size, in the exhibition. You
should see how changed he is ! It is twenty years since we saw each
other. He has changed, aged in every respect, he is shrunken, and
I am afraid his painting likewise; he looked at my works with
bewilderment, he found them full of light and air. He makes
paintings with anecdotal motifs, like the Negro Flogged at Tan-
1 When he was preparing for his final trip to Tahiti and organizing a last auction
sale of his works, Gauguin asked Strindberg to write a preface for his catalogue.
The latter replied with a long letter in which he justified his refusal to do so,
saying: "I cannot understand your art and I cannot like it." Gauguin used this letter
as a preface, publishing it in his catalogue with his reply.
1 The painter Francisco Oiler y Cestero, born in Puerto Rico in 1833, was one of
the group around Pissarro during his first years in Paris. Most of the group came
from Cuba and the West Indies, and all spoke Spanish. Oiler, the pupil of Courbet
and Couture, worked around 1861 in the Academie Suisse where he became ac-
quainted with Paul Cdzanne. Pissarro often went to the academy to see them.
263
guy's. The photograph of his painting seemed very much better
to me, but I am afraid it is a bit obvious.
ERAGNY, MARCH 28, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I have a canvas on which I have worked from time to time for
about a year and a half, a canvas about 18x15 inches in size, a
great gawky figure of a peasant girl, ugly, she is crossing a brook
[900]. She fills almost the whole canvas ; there is a cloudy and
luminous sky, the trees are green-blue ; the execution is uneven,
but there is nevertheless a great unity. The picture disgusted me
for a long time, but now I rather like it; I now see sometimes many
beauties in it and don't dare remove certain little defects lest the
ensemble be impaired. I am afraid it is rather terrifying; but I
think time will make it a little more amiable, if I may so express
myself. I also have Washerwomen [933], big peasant women toss-
ing their breasts. Oiler found them most beautiful; although [the
painting] is less complete than the prettier one, I find it not bad;
but the washerwomen are perhaps too bare for the English, they
are in shirt-sleeves. However, there is enough in the painting so
that this feature won't be too prominent.
Things are so bad that I am accepting 500 francs for a canvas
about 16x13 inches in size, Young Peasant Girl Standing Nude
[936], a picture I thought highly of. But what can one do, they
find 600 francs too high!
PARIS, APRIL 8, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I am still here, I am waiting for Durand to decide my fate.
Thirteen canvases have been deposited at the rue Laffitte, and
father and son are now deliberating whether it is wise to buy my
work. I am not expecting good news. I hope I will know their deci-
sion today.
I don't know when I will return to Eragny. That depends on
Durand, for if he doesn't take the whole batch, I shall try Boussod,
who may take some.
264
I have a large lithograph on stone, a Market [D.147], going. I
am working on it here in Paris. I messed it up with wash, scratched
out parts of it, rubbed it with emery paper; I don't know how it
will come out, but it was foolish of me to make a Market, I should
have done some Bathers. I have some motifs on metal plates which
are very amusing, and I am allowing myself a series on zinc (it is
so much more convenient). I will do some in two or three colors,
little retouching — nothing to it ! — it will be amusing. What a pity
there is no demand for my prints, I find this work as interesting
as painting, which everybody does, and there are so few who
achieve something in engraving. They can be counted.
Impressionist art is still too misunderstood to be able to realize
a complete synthesis. ... I remember that, although I was full of
ardor, I didn't conceive, even at forty, the deeper side of the
movement we followed instinctively. It was in the air! — In this
connection there is an article by Mirbeau on the symbolist move-
ment here, it is entitled Lilies, Lilies! I shall send it to Georges and
Titi, it will give them food for thought. It has great good sense.
Symbolism, here, is finished, done for — at last! Nature, the splen-
did nature of French Gothic takes the ascendancy.
Georges and Titi should have addressed themselves to doing a
little work in industrial art. I pointed out to them that skill of this
kind would enable them to earn a livelihood and make them travel
around in order to place their works. It would also be a satisfaction
to your mother. Unhappily, exhortations and advice are dead let-
ters, the boys depend too much on me. This is bad from two points
of view : the practical and the artistic. If you want to succeed some
day, you should turn to the movement seeking to relate art to
industry and create an impressionist style in this field. There is still
time!
This nice fellow Mellerio evidently approaches all these ideas
only from the surface, but he has good will. He doesn't have a
deep enough artistic sense, but what literary man has? Didn't
Geffroy in a conversation with me put Willette above Forain, on
the basis that Forain follows Degas? He doesn't understand that
Willette follows the Ecole des Beaux- Arts! It is enough to make
one despair !
Tomorrow I shall see at the exhibition of the lndependants the
large painting by Signac, 4x5 meters, a decorative picture. Le-
comte praised it to the skies to me, so did Luce, of course, but if I
265
am to judge by the picture by Cross that I saw — and Cross follows
Signac — it is still not my ideal. It is, however, pleasing enough and
the colors are attractive, but the drawing has something of the
disorder of official art, there is a lack of values and of personal
conception, and there are exaggerations of complementaries around
the figures which irritate me. — And then it has the look of a
tendency that has become decadent! Yes, yes, it is pretty, as are all
unmixed colors, it is a near relation to the chromo! I am so sick
of this sort of thing that all my pictures done in my period of
systematic divisionism, and even those I painted while making
every effort to free myself from the method, disgust me. I feel the
effects of that as late as 1894!
PARIS, APRIL 11, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I finally closed the deal with Durand-Ruel, naturally the terms
are not wonderful. It is a great sacrifice, I have given three can-
vases of 31 x 25, three of 28 x 23, four pictures of 25 x 21, two
of 21 x 18 and one canvas of 18 x 15 inches for 10,000 francs. It
is disastrous, but there's no doubt it was absolutely necessary for
me to accept. I agreed to sell them to Durand in a batch 5 thus I am
not pledged, in case conditions improve, to maintain these prices.
It will be just enough to indemnify several creditors. What pains
me most is being unable to give Monet anything, he is not going
to like that. But the truth is, conditions are much too bad, and I,
with Sisley, am treated worse than the others. I rate poorly with
the collectors. I don't know why they are so frightened, for really
my pictures are not inferior.
[ROUEN] APRIL 19, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I am in Rouen with Dario de Rigoyos. I am going to look for a
hotel on the quay, for thus I will be able to make some carefully
done paintings without too much risk or fatigue. Carrying can-
vases 36 x 28 inches in size is very difficult now that I am old, and
I have no money. I don't know yet when I will come here, per-
266
haps in the summer, perhaps in the fall. I will arrange that with
you if you come, as I trust you will.
Yes, you did tell me that Shannon was doing your portrait. It
should be a fine thing. You should have seen the Ingres in the
museum, La Belle Zelie! and the decorations by Puvis! and the
small Corot ! That is art !
ERAGNY, APRIL 28, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I was delighted to receive the two volumes of The Queen of the
Fishes. I find them really charming. I am sure that you will be
much praised for this. I find only one thing to criticize : the cover
is not solid enough and is perhaps a little too delicate for the rest,
which, in my eyes, has the great quality of not being pretty.
I will not go to Rouen immediately, I have the time to think
about it, and it depends on my financial situation, which is always
bad. Monet wrote me recently to ask for a little money. He didn't
want to do this; he must need money himself. I sent him 3,000
francs. That's a big hole, and there are still others who have to be
paid, and I won't have any paintings to sacrifice until the fall, for
now I must count wholly on Durand, and I am glad to have him,
even though I lose [so much] .
The Berlin exhibition is over, I have had no news; nothing can
be expected from this quarter, it is as with the Belgians. Theo and
Constantin Meunier visited me recently. I didn't have much to
show them.
PARIS, MAY 3, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I went to Mrs. Perry's, — she is a young friend of Monet — for
tea. There I met quite a few American and Swedish artists, and
some Danes more or less interested in art. There was no point in
showing your book, which was known and which I heard praised
highly. If everybody is as satisfied, it will be wonderful. It is, I
think, a small success which promises for the future and which
ought to encourage you.
267
Yesterday at the Champ de Mars I saw a beautiful Puvis de
Chavannes which goes to Boston. Among the sculptures some bas-
reliefs by Constantin Meunier, which are very beautiful 5 a foun-
tain in pewter by Charpentier, a very remarkable thing, has been
bought by Paris: 10,000 bucks! It is really a fine work, he has
made great progress, it is less academic. I didn't see anything else
to speak of. Oh yes, the Burne- Joneses !! ! I don't like his work, I
can't swallow it, it is much too sick !
ERAGNY, MAY 11, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Monet's exhibition opened yesterday, he is showing twenty
Cathedrals of Rouen! forty canvases in all. This will be the great
attraction. It will run till the end of the month.
Theo wrote me that he is coming tomorrow ; he will stay for
three or four days. What a pity that you won't be here! He is go-
ing to begin the portrait of Cocotte. I am concentrating all my
efforts on pictures of blossoming spring, I work from my window
and also outdoors. We shall see about Rouen when you decide to
come.
ERAGNY, MAY 23, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Chartres! . . . goodness! didn't I study a guide book for a week
to learn the layout of the city? I thought of Rouen because I have
been there with Dario, also your mother suggested it, and then I
found a hotel on the port. But on further reflection I realized that
it is much too expensive. If I want to be at my ease so as to work
well and with nothing but that on my mind, I must reckon on
spending at least twenty francs a day! The Hotel de Paris is fifteen
francs a day, and five francs for extras. So I would like nothing
better than to visit Chartres. — I was also considering Hemixem,
three francs a day at the Mosegat, seascape on the Scheldt, a view
of Antwerp. But what if Durand again refuses my pictures of this
place on the pretext that the color values are not strong enough?
I just looked over my studies of Knocke, I find them quite good
268
and even very interesting in their clarity of colorations and values.
Theo has done a pretty pastel portrait of Cocotte, it is a very
good likeness. Much better than the horrid dot. Theo told me that
Vandevelde has made some furniture that is in the most exquisite
taste, a whole ornamented set, this must be more English than
Flemish.
I am very glad that the two boys have been to Eppingj did you
discuss industrial art with them? I think it a good idea to bring
the subject up, it will result in their considering the matter. The
only thing is that they are not sufficiently versed in many sides of
pure art, they have wasted not a little time on romantic symbolism.
I am glad to see that it is beginning to dawn on them that nature
is our only hope if we are to achieve a real and decorative art.
PARIS, MAY 26, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I hope you receive the letter in time to make a trip with the
little one. If only you could get here before Monet's show closes 5
his Cathedrals will be scattered everywhere, and these particularly
ought to be seen in a group. They have been attacked by the young
painters and even by Monet's admirers. I am carried away by their
extraordinary deftness. Cezanne, whom I met yesterday at Durand-
Ruel's, is in complete agreement with my view that this is the work
of a well balanced but impulsive artist who pursues the intangible
nuances of effects that are realized by no other painter. Certain
painters deny the necessity of this research, personally I find any
research legitimate that is felt to such a point.
Bing is opening a gallery 5 he has an exhibition room where he
kept his Japanese collection. It seems he is going to have an em-
ployee of the type of Theo van Gogh, it is a friend of Theo van
Rysselberghe. The tendency will be to play up the young men,
Lautrec, Theo, Signac, etc., etc. It will perhaps be a good place
for your books.
269
PARIS, JUNE 1, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I arrived in Paris today expecting to see you, but I see from
your letter that you will leave too late to see the Monets. This is a
great pity, for the Cathedrals are being much talked of, and highly
praised, too, by Degas, Renoir, myself and others. I would have so
liked you to see the whole series in a group, for I find in it the
superb unity which I have been seeking for a long time. I can tell
you that it pains me deeply not to be able to see the series several
times with you. Naturally ! I regard it as so important that I came
especially to Paris to see it.
During the holiday that Lucien, his wife and their little girl
spent at Eragny, father and son again discussed the question of
their collaboration. Camille Pissarro did not succeed in persuading
Lucien to do the drawings for an album of engravings and an
illustrated book himself. So it was decided that the father should
do the drawings for Les Travaux des Champs and the illustrations
for Daphnis and Chloe, and that Lucien and his wife engrave these
on wood. When the young couple left for England, Camille Pis-
sarro was to begin work on the project.
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 11, 1895
My dear Lucien,
The house seemed entirely different after your departure; there
is nothing like a little child to give one a feeling of life. The Luces
are still here. Luce is beginning some studies, his wife is much less
sad, she hasn't the time, with all the agitation and excitement, to
grieve.
I have just about finished a drawing for Les Travaux des
Champs, women who have been gathering dead wood returning
from the forest.1 As soon as it is finished I will send it to you.
1 See fig. SI.
270
55. — Les Travaux des Champs: Women
Gathering Wood. Drawn byCamille and
cut on wood by Lucien Pissarro, 1895.
ERAGNY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1895
My dear Lucienf
Luce and his wife left yesterday. He did quite a bit of work here
and finished a fine little group of sketches. His wife was less
stricken by the loss of her baby and seemed calmer than when she
came.
I have done two drawings for Les Travaux des Champs. The
last drawing is on old grey paper, rather bleached. I suppose it will
do j it was the sketch, but since I liked it, I didn't do it over on
tracing paper. It is of a Mower.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 6, 1895
My dear Lucien,
What you say about Daphnis and Chloe and Ricketts' opinion
does not surprise me in the least. He is absolutely right. I have
271
shown poor judgment in this. It would have been so simple to have
Chloe completely nude, and that, by the way, was what I intended
to do. But I wanted to do something Greek without making the
necessary research. We should have made these at the library or
at the Louvre. It is too bad you have already engraved this drawing
on wood, otherwise the four drawings could be done over with the
costumes changed. But with you away it is not easy.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 11, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I am working steadily at my figure paintings and I am very
fearful that I won't have time to finish them to my satisfaction.
Your mother took Cocotte to boarding-school on the seventh of
this month. She felt unhappy about leaving the house, and your
mother feared that she might become ill, she wept so. We feel
better about it now, for this morning we received a letter from her
saying that she is not too unhappy and has already made several
friends. As you can understand, we feel reassured now, and if your
mother can go to see her from time to time — and I too — Cocotte
will adjust herself.
I have been able to finish five canvases, 25 x 21 inches, and I am
expecting our pessimistic Portier to come any day. As in other
years of this epoch, nothing is stirring. I shall simply have to go to
Paris to break the run of ill luck.
I find the proofs of Daphnis much superior. I hope Ricketts likes
them, I think the others will be much better. I have finished five
drawings for Les Travaux des Champs. I am now after Nudes.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 16, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Have no fear, I will do The Four Seasons; I am waiting for you
to tell me whether my last drawings are not too white, especially
the Reaper. I am afraid the style of the Daphnis and Chloe draw-
ings is a little too monotonous. I dropped the drawings in order to
paint, but I will return to them.
272
56. — P. Gauguin: Jacob wrestling with the Angel, 1889.
57. — Lucien Pissarro: Portrait of Camille
Pissarro.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 20, 1895
My dear Lucien,
A small sale, oh, it amounts to very little : Portier sold Hayashi
my Bather for 1,800 francs. And it is a canvas of 28 x 23 inches!
I owe Hayashi 700 francs, so very little is left for me.
I wanted to take several pictures the boys did to Paris and try
to sell them. Your mother said that I should affix another name to
them j this, it seemed to me, is a rather delicate question and diffi-
cult to decide. What do you think? I will ask the boys what should
be done.1 The fact is it would be useless to present them under the
name Pissarro, and if a pseudonym is to be used, it must be
maintained from now on, or at least for a long time to come. And
as I said to your mother (who called me an egotist, etc.) , this
should not be done until the boys have had a chance to think about
it and given their consent. Don't you agree? It will have to be
discussed with them.
And I really want to go to Paris and see what is happening
there. Despite a great sweep of work, I am very bored in Eragny.
... Is it anxiety about money, the fact that the coming winter
already makes itself felt, weariness with the same old motifs, or my
lack of data for the figure paintings I am doing in the studio ? It is
partly due to all these things, but what hurts me most is seeing the
whole family breaking up, little by little. Cocotte is gone, soon it
will be Rodo! Can you see us two old people, alone in this great
house all winter?
It is not exactly gay. . . . They say that makes one work. I don't
agree. Although I don't like people who annoy you while you
work, isolation doesn't give me any eagerness to paint.
PARIS, OCTOBER 23, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Met Angrand at Durand's yesterday. Oh, what theories . . .
boring and exasperating! I couldn't keep from telling him that it
was simply idiotic, that their science was humbug, that the truth
was they were not artists, that they had killed their instincts for
the sake of a false science, that Seurat, who did indeed have talent
1 Fdlix and Georges were then working in England.
273
and instinct, had destroyed his spontaneity with his cold and dull
theory, that Monet achieved more luminosity than they did and
that his pictures are much less rotten and boring.
PARIS, NOVEMBER 15, 1895
My dear Esther,
At Vollard's there is a very complete exhibition of Cezanne's
works. Still lifes of astonishing perfection, and some unfinished
works, really extraordinary for their fierceness and character. I
don't imagine they will be understood.
Cocotte is in a boarding-school that is pretty good, but in regard
to scholarship it is like all other such schools, perhaps a little better
because of the students, who are partly English. But the method of
instruction is as elsewhere, there is no religious teaching. Cocotte,
no matter what her mother says about it, isn't at all dissatisfied
there. At the Sainte Catherine they are going to have an evening
party (there will be dancing) and they are to perform a comedy.
Cocotte is enchanted. I bought her some pretty evening slippers
and white gloves. She was so afraid that she would have to wear
her large boots. I have taken her for outings several times, I took
her to the Louvre and to the Centenary of Lithography at the
Trocadero Museum, etc., etc. Thus I try, little by little, to open her
eyes, and without seeming to be aiming at this. At the zoo I called
her attention to some beautiful motifs for tapestries, etc. But I beg
you, if either one of you write to me, be careful in what you say
about Cocotte so as to avoid misunderstandings. . . . Each time
mother goes to see her (it is a regular trip) she tells me that
Cocotte is so sad, that she wept when they parted . . . perhaps she
did. But with me it is the contrary ; the last time she was most
happy, and so was I. But of course if the mother cries, the girl
weeps with her. It is just a lack of sacrifice. I shall try to go there
tomorrow.
I am leaving on Friday. I brought the pictures of Jean Roche
and G. Manzana l to Martin and Commentron.
1 Georges had chosen the maiden name of Camille Pissarro's mother and signed
his paintings Georges Manzana. Fdlix had chosen the pseudonym Jean Roche.
274
PARIS, NOVEMBER 21, 1895
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday at Portier's I made the acquaintance of the English
painter O'Kean, — I don't know whether I am spelling his name
correctly. He is very intelligent and greatly admires the impres-
sionists, especially my work. He didn't know me by sight, and he
was praising my Sunset in Knocke, a canvas of 25 x 21 inches, so
highly that I was abashed. . . . He wanted to show me a canvas of
his so that I could advise him, which I did scrupulously. His paint-
ing, like that of many English artists, is literature, which is not a
defect in itself, but does result from a lack of painting content;
his work is thin and hard and lacks values. It is, however, intelli-
gent, a little like Chavannes, sentimental and feminine, but as I
told him, it is not really painting. . . . Speaking of England, I asked
him how it was that we were so little understood in a country that
had had such fine painters. England is always late and moves in
leaps. This is pretty much our own opinion.
On leaving Portier I had this thought : How rarely do you come
across true painters, who know how to balance two tones. I was
thinking of Hayet, who looks for noon at midnight, of Gauguin,
who, however, has a good eye, of Signac, who also has something,
all of them more or less paralyzed by theories. I also thought of
Cezanne's show in which there were exquisite things, still lifes of
irreproachable perfection, others much worked on and yet un-
finished, of even greater beauty, landscapes, nudes and heads that
are unfinished but yet grandiose, and so painted, so supple. . . .
Why? Sensation is there!
On the way to Durand-Ruel's, I saw two paintings of Puvis de
Chavannes. No, no! That sort of thing is cold and tiresome! A
representation of natives of Picardy, and very well composed. But
all the same, at bottom the whole thing is an anomaly, it can't be
seen as a painting, no, a thousand times no ! On a great stone wall it
is admirable . . . but it is not painting. I am simply noting my im-
mediate impressions.
Curiously enough, while I was admiring this strange, discon-
certing aspect of Cezanne, familiar to me for many years, Renoir
arrived. But my enthusiasm was nothing compared to Renoir's.
Degas himself is seduced by the charm of this refined savage,
Monet, all of us. . . . Are we mistaken? I don't think so. The only
275
ones who are not subject to the charm of Cezanne are precisely
those artists or collectors who have shown by their errors that their
sensibilities are defective. They properly point out the faults, we
all see, which leap to the eye, but the charm — that they do not see.
As Renoir said so well, these paintings have I do not know what
quality like the things of Pompeii, so crude and so admirable! . . .
Nothing of the Academic Julian! Degas and Monet have bought
some marvelous Cezannes, I exchanged a poor sketch of Louve-
ciennes for an admirable small canvas of bathers and one of his
self-portraits.
[PARIS] NOVEMBER 22, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I am always haggling with Durand who hesitates. I hope he
doesn't abandon me. Yesterday he talked to me at length, saying
that he would like nothing better than to buy everything I did, but
that he wasn't selling my work, that he had four million francs'
worth of paintings that cost him tremendous interest.
Mauclair has published an article [on Cezanne] which I am
sending you. You will see that he is ill informed like most of those
critics who understand nothing. He simply doesn't know that
Cezanne was influenced like all the rest of us, which detracts noth-
ing from his qualities. People forget that Cezanne was first in-
fluenced by Delacroix, Courbet, Manet and even Legros, like all of
us; he was influenced by me at Pontoise, and I by him. You may
remember the sallies of Zola and Beliard in this regard. They
imagined that artists are the sole inventors of their styles and that
to resemble someone else is to be unoriginal. Curiously enough, in
Cezanne's show at Vollard's there are certain landscapes of Auvers
and Pontoise [painted in 1 87 1—74] that are similar to mine. Natu-
rally, we were always together ! But what cannot be denied is that
each of us kept the only thing that counts, the unique "sensation"!
— This could easily be shown.
276
PARIS, DECEMBER 4, 1895
My dear Lucien,
I am conducting a campaign here against forgers who are ped-
dling fake paintings and gouaches, among others a large gouache
by Piette, signed with my name, forged of course, and misspelled.
The most interesting thing about this is the price asked : 300 francs
for a gouache, 25 x 21 inches} a Market of Mayence, not bad, a
little monotonous and empty, in no way resembling my style. Of
course, the collectors are not fooled.
I have just about finished my large figure paintings. Finished?
That is to say I am letting them lie around in the studio until I find,
at some moment, the final sensation that will give life to the whole.
Alas ! while I have not found this last moment I can't do anything
further with them ! But while waiting for this final sensation I am
doing several figures from our Rosa 5 they are developing with
more sureness; I am quite pleased with a canvas of about 25 x 21
inches, Peasant Girl Selling at the Market, which is closely related
to my figures of 1882—83, with a little more freshness.
Would you believe that Heymann has the cheek to repeat the
absurdity that Cezanne was always influenced by Guillaumin?
Then how do you expect outsiders to understand anything! This
monstrosity was expressed at Vollard's. Vollard was blue. Aren't
these babblers amusing? You wouldn't believe how difficult it is
for me to make certain collectors, who are friends of the impres-
sionists, understand how precious Cezanne's qualities are. I suppose
centuries will pass before these are appreciated. Degas and Renoir
are enthusiastic about Cezanne's works. Vollard showed me a draw-
ing of some fruits, which they both wanted to acquire 5 they drew
straws to determine the lucky one. Degas so mad about Cezanne's
sketches — what do you think of that!
Didn't I judge rightly in 1861 when Oiler and I went to see the
curious provengal at the Academie Suisse where Cezanne's figure
drawings were ridiculed by all the important artists, including the
famous Jacquet, sunk long since in prettiness, Jacquet whose works
bring enormous sums.
Amusing all this; a repetition of the old struggles!
Great emotion among the literary gents over the death of
Alexandre Dumas fils. An article by Bergerat in Le Journal affirm-
ing his admiration for the "sole free spirit" of our time. . . . Free?
277
free? He who wrote that miserable reactionary article in 1871
against Courbet, that admirable painter of the Demoiselles du
Village, of those two women asleep on the grass under the shade
of a willow, of the Afternoon at Ornans, which is in the museum at
Lille, and of so many other works of the first rank! Come now,
there is a terribly reactionary bourgeois side to this man; which of
the young literary men, damn it, is going to make this clear?
Alexandre, Arsene, hasn't budged yet, neither has Geffroy . . .
they have understood nothing of this !
Yesterday Zandomeneghi and I rated Arsene Alexandre roundly
in connection with an exhibition of Jeanniot, which I think is very
nice but, name of God, without any artistic interest. Poor Arsene,
he was so conciliatory. "It is interesting," he said, "there are such
nice observations." I admit that I was annoyed to have to compli-
ment Jeanniot, who tries hard enough, but, alas, who cannot free
himself from the illustrative style. Now how should one behave in
such a situation? be quiet? but when the artist asks your opinion?
say to him discreetly: it is good? it would be awful to say: it is
worthless. I understand that an artist must be discreet, but a pro-
fessional critic!
17n a "Lettre sur les choses du jour" of June 6, 1871, published in the same year,
immediately after the Commune, Alexandre Dumas the younger expressed .himself in
this way concerning the painter: "From what fabulous crossing of a slug with a pea-
cock, from what genital antitheses, from what sebaceous oozing can have been gen-
erated, for instance, this thing called Mr. Gustave Courbet? Under what gardener's
bell, with the help of what manure, as a result of what mixture of wine, beer, corro-
sive mucous and a flatulent oedema can have grown this sonorous and hairy pumpkin,
this esthetic belly, this imbecilic and impotent incarnation of the Self? Wouldn't one
say he was a force of God if God — Whom this non-being has wanted to destroy —
were capable of playing pranks, and could have mixed Himself up with this?"
278
18 96
ERAGNY, JANUARY 3, 1896
My dear Lucien,
While I was in Paris this last time, I had an opportunity to
discuss decorative art with Vandevelde several times. However one
may criticize Bing's enterprise, it has a certain value as a point of
departure. It is when things are in order that you can best see what
is defective. I wish you could have seen the room of Maurice Denis,
you can't imagine what it is like : a lugubrious room of a young
girl ! pieces of furniture that are like graves and everything painted
in a dirty yellowish grey! It is an absolute failure! Despite the
shortcomings of his collaborators, Vandevelde's pieces clearly have
the upper hand, but it must be granted that he has been influenced
by the English . . . however, this tendency may certainly change.
Condor's boudoir is nice : clear, decorative, silk, some sort of
Japanese prints on white silk with a pearl tint, things lightly
washed with watercolors, Louis XV ornaments. This isn't new, but
its rococo aspect should make it popular. Besnard made the decora-
tion for a rotunda, it is horrible, it is music-hall, it is Julian
Academy stuff. And as Vandevelde says : "If Besnard is successful,
there is nothing left for us but to pack our bags." And that is likely
to happen, for Bing is so proud of it that he has made an agreement
with Besnard and with Trolo! If you only could see that one's
paintings, really, they are the limit. When one considers the pub-
lic's love for vulgarity, one feels like giving up in despair. . . .
279
HOTEL DE PARIS, 51 QUAI DE PARIS
ROUEN, JANUARY 20, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I arrived today from Paris. I am going to get down to work as
soon as I get my materials, which are being sent from Eragny. I
have a splendid view of the harbor. Before leaving Paris I saw our
friend Oiler, who told me of some extraordinary things that befell
him with Cezanne and that indicate that the latter is really unbal-
anced. It would take too long to tell you. . . . After numerous tokens
of affection and southern warmth, Oiler was confident that he
could follow his friend Cezanne to Aix-en-Provence. It was ar-
ranged to meet the next day on the P.L.M. train. "In the third
class compartment," said friend Cezanne. So on the next day,
Oiler was on the platform, straining his eyes, peering everywhere.
No sign of Cezanne! The trains pass. Nobody! Finally Oiler said to
himself, "He has gone, thinking I left already," made a rapid
decision, and took the train. Arrived in Lyon, he had 500 francs
stolen from his purse at the hotel. Not knowing what to do, he sent
a telegram to Cezanne just in case. And Cezanne was, indeed, at
home. He had left in a first class compartment ! . . . Oiler received
one of those letters that you have to read to form an idea of what
they are like. He forbade him the house, asked if he took him for
an imbecile, etc. In short an atrocious letter.1 This incident is
simply a variation of what happened to Renoir. It seems he is furi-
ous with all of us :
"Pissarro is an old fool, Monet a cunning fellow, they have
nothing in them. ... I am the only one with temperament, I
am the only one who can make a red! . . ."
Aguiard has been present at scenes of this kind $ speaking as a
doctor, he assured Oiler that Cezanne was sick, that the incident
couldn't be taken seriously since he was not responsible. Is it not
sad and a pity that a man endowed with such a beautiful tempera-
ment should have so little balance?
1 See Paul Cezanne, Letters, London 1941 ? pp. 195-197.
280
ROUEN, JANUARY 23, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I made the acquaintance, yesterday, of one of my collectors, a
friend of Mirbeau, Monsieur Depeaux. Monet's brother introduced
us. I shall breakfast with them this morning. M. Depeaux put him-
self completely at my service, offering me any quarters I want to
paint in, even proposing to build me a cabin in his dock yards. But
I am too crotchety to accept, I am too afraid of colds. If this were
summer it would be perfect. Besides, I will undoubtedly come
here again and then I will take advantage of the offer. This col-
lector owns some property in the neighborhood which must be a
wonderful place, it is in a forest on the heights from which one can
see Rouen in the distance. But I am not thirty years old now, I have
to be satisfied with a hotel window. I went to look at the Hotel
d'Angleterre on the harbor, it is admirably located but very ex-
pensive : 8 francs a day for a room on the fourth floor. This place
is less favorable, but I pay only 5 francs for a nice room on the
second floor and another on the third, above the entresol 5 the view
is beautiful.
ROUEN, FEBRUARY 6, 1896
My dear Lucien,
My pictures are advancing. I have eight things going, I am
waiting impatiently for snow. Monet's brother assured me that
Depeaux would take some before I finish them. That would suit
me fine, the problem is to finish them successfully. One canvas,
View of the Bridge [950], is about 36 x 28 inches. The theme is
the bridge near the Place de la Bourse with effects of rain, crowds
of people coming and going, smoke from the boats, quays with
cranes, workers in the foreground, and all this in grey colors
glistening in the rain. Lecomte found it very fine. I have one of
fog with sun, but these effects are infrequent.
What you said in one of your letters is true enough. It is so hard
just to maintain oneself when one is old that it is already something
to be able to go one's modest way.
Another symbolist has failed miserably ! And one whose coming
triumph was hailed by Geffroy in Le Journal. All the painters
* 281
worth anything, Puvis, Degas, Renoir, Monet and your humble
servant, unanimously term hideous the exhibition held at Durand's
of the symbolist named Bonnard. Moreover, the show was a com-
plete fiasco.
You know the sally of Bracquemond : "This deuced Pissarro is
not a man but a bowsprit!" But I was right enough!
Lecomte tells me that Cezanne, who is now doing Geffroy's
portrait, is running me down to him. Now that's nice! I, who for
thirty years defended him with so much energy and conviction ! It
would take too long to tell the whole story. But it is things like this
that give rise to silence and doubts [when my name comes up] . . .
bah! Let us work hard and try to make dazzling greys! It will be
better than running down the others in turn. . . .
It is imperative for you to have a show in Paris. You are still the
only one working in the tradition of good sense. An exhibition by
you would be a revelation. If you can come for a few days in April,
when I am having my show, you will see what would have to be
done.
I ordered some zinc plates to make lithographs of Rouen. I be-
gan some sketches of old streets which are being destroyed. ... I
wish you could see the rue St. Romain [D.l 76— 1 79] , it is splendid.
I hope it will have a certain interest.
ROUEN, FEBRUARY 26, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I sense in your letter a great enthusiasm for your work, that is
the main thing, with that one can go a long way. Simultaneously
with your letter I received word from the boys. They too seem to
be very interested in their studies and to be working hard. All this
gives me comfort and the lift necessary to consummate the paintings
I had the audacity to undertake here. I have begun no less than a
dozen pictures, six canvases of 36 x 28 inches, if you please, of the
others one is 21 x 1 8 inches, one is a sketch which I gave to Monet's
son Jean, whom I often see, and five are canvases of 25 x 21
inches. . . .
I have effects of fog and mist, of rain, of the setting sun and of
grey weather, motifs of bridges seen from every angle, quays with
boats; but what interests me especially is a motif of the iron bridge
282
in the wet, with much traffic, carriages, pedestrians, workers on the
quays, boats, smoke, mist in the distance, the whole scene fraught
with animation and life. The picture is fairly well advanced. I am
waiting for a little rain to put it in order. I hope these pictures
won't be too bad, for the moment I see only their defects; at times
I have fits of hope that they will be good.
I think I shall stay here until the end of March, for I found a
really uncommon motif in a room of the hotel facing north, ice-
cold and without a fireplace. Just conceive for yourself : the whole
of old Rouen seen from above the roofs, with the Cathedral, St.
Ouen's church, and the fantastic roofs, really amazing turrets
[973] / Can you picture a canvas about 36 x 28 inches in size,
filled with old, grey, worm-eaten roofs? It is extraordinary!
ROUEN, MARCH 7, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I hope to be able to finish paying for the house this time. I saw
M. Depeaux yesterday evening, he was with his wife. He con-
firmed the purchase of my Roofs of Old Rouen [973] and he
retained another canvas of 36 x 28 inches for his brother-in-law,
but he didn't speak to me about the price . . . and it didn't occur
to me to bring this question up. Would he give me 5,000 francs
for each? He bought a Cathedral from Monet for 15,000 francs.
It seems to me such a price will seem fair enough to him. Mrs.
Perry hasn't been able to place a single painting for me so far,
really, the Americans can't get used to my painting, which is too
sad for them, I recognize that. And even in Paris it is certainly
hard though to sell anything, although my pictures are less sad
than Carriere's.
I understand that Ricketts and Shannon don't care for Carriere.
As for Geffroy, really, he knows nothing about painting, although
he once painted himself. Just read in Le Journal the article on the
Berthe Morisot exhibition, words, the kind of eulogy that appears
in all his articles ... it is true that it is difficult. . . .
My bridge [946] is completed with its effects of wetness, it is
quite interesting, I think. I wanted to render the animation of the
hive that is the harbor of Rouen. I have a painting of the misty
1 See figs. 69 and 70.
283
Pont Corneille which should be pretty good, a canvas 36 x 28
inches also [962] . But I see them too often to know what they are
like.
ROUEN, MARCH 17, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Did I write you that the brother-in-law of M. Depeaux came to
see my pictures, found them superb and was anxious to have one
of the best of them. I was timid, I asked for 4,000 francs. He
offered 3,000 and I rejected it. He then told me that he had bought
a canvas, 28 x 23 inches, from Portier for 1,000 francs.
So there it is. Portier is constantly lowering my prices. Instead
of going to Durand who maintains my prices, the buyers go to
Portier, and, in short, since there aren't many of them, I gain little
by this. So I can assure you I would much prefer to make an agree-
ment with Durand than to run after the collectors. I don't know
whether Depeaux will accept the price I shall set, so much the
worse for him if he doesn't, I want to keep the Roofs of Old Rouen
for myself. I don't want to show it on account of Monet's Cathe-
drals, I am afraid it isn't good enough to stand the inevitable com-
parison, although it is quite different. You know how much back
biting is going on.
I believe I will have finished my campaign by the end of the
month. I will spend several days making watercolors and going on
excursions to Canteleu, that is, if the weather is promising. For
several days now it has been miserably dull.
Until I hear from you. I find ample time to do fifteen pictures,
to write to you, to Georges, to Amelie, to the house, to make
lithographs, not to speak of the business letters I must write ! Surely
you can write to me.
I am sending you a letter from Pouget, who is in prison, and on
the back you will read your mother's harsh words for me because
I am moved by Pouget's misfortune. However, I am only returning
to another what Caillebotte did for us when we were in trouble and
glad we were to have his help. I don't understand her reproaches.
I write to her all the time. She scarcely sends me a word — of
reproof !
284
ROUEN, MARCH 24, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I come from the library. I have been looking at illuminated
books. Flemish works of the thirteenth and Gothic French of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, admirable books, some in the
bindings of the time, and very beautiful. There are manuscripts
that would fill you with joy. Do you recall the collection of books
and illuminated manuscripts of all schools which we saw in Lon-
don? I believe nothing comparable can be found anywhere; in
Rome there are only a few first rate things.
You will remember that the Cathedrals of Monet were all done
with veiled effects which gave a certain mysterious charm to the
edifice. My Roofs of Old Rouen with the Cathedral in the back-
ground was done in grey weather and is clearly outlined against
the sky; I liked it well enough, it pleased me to see the cathedral
firm, grey and clear on a uniform sky in wet weather. Well then,
Depeaux doesn't care for the sky! I think I shall keep the picture
for us.
ROUEN, MARCH 28, 1896
My dear Lucien,
At this moment I am packing my canvases without having seen
my collector, Depeaux. I don't understand that fellow. He told me
that he wants to see my pictures in frames in order to make up his
mind, he promised me some frames which he has in his dining
room, it was settled, we were to meet the next day . . . like a fool I
waited ... he didn't show up. Two days passed, the frame-maker
of the neighborhood brought me some frames of his own, I ap-
prised my strange collector, made an appointment with him, and
I am still waiting. So I am packing up, it's a farce.
PARIS, APRIL 4, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I am leaving for Eragny this morning to retouch and send off
my pictures to Durand. I am very apprehensive, I'm afraid of find-
285
ing my work inadequate. At Durand's I looked at a series I did
recently and which didn't look good to me j I hope that once framed
and hung these will have a better effect. I am much concerned
about my nudes.
[ERAGNY] APRIL 7, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I have just sent off my canvases for the exhibition. I will be in
Paris on the 10th. The exhibition opens on the 15th. I'm showing
twenty-two canvases.1
ERAGNY, APRIL 8, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Arsene Alexandre came Monday to see my pictures. He found my
Roofs of Old Rouen [973] very beautiful and was very insistent
that I exhibit it. I decided to do so. And what the deuce, it is so
different from Monet that I don't think my friends will regard me
as spiteful in showing it. The truth is that Cezanne is the only one
likely to find fault, and I don't care at all. Each of us does what
he can.
PARIS, APRIL 16, 1896
My dear Lucien,
All my friends say the exhibition is very beautiful. Degas told
me that no matter what the "great masters" of the youth, who
treat us as dolts, say, we still have the upper hand. From a financial
point of view I did the best I could j I much preferred to sell Durand
eleven pictures than to wait on the caprice of collectors. I am not
cunning enough for transactions of that kind and they bore me. I
accepted 14,000 francs for the lot on the condition that Durand
would take another series at the beginning of the winter, which
1 Pissarro actually showed thirty-five pictures, thirteen of which doubtless belonged
to Durand-Ruel and various collectors. The preface to the catalogue was written by
Ars&ne Alexandre.
286
he promised to do. I am keeping the Roofs of Old Rouen for my-
self 5 Zandomeneghi, Degas and I consider it the outstanding work.
I don't understand how I was able to get this completely grey pic-
ture to hold together! Now Camondo wants to have it. He had
somebody ask me for it, but without seeming to care about it.
Durand, after having spoken to me, received a telephone call ask-
ing him not to say anything to me. In short, he wants to get it
cheap on the ground that he will offer it to the Luxembourg! —
After his death!
"Let's see, if Camondo offered you 4,000, that's all right with
you isn't it? That's reasonable enough," Durand said to me.
"Goodness no! The Luxembourg doesn't tempt me at all, I won't
sell for less than a good price. ..."
So that's the situation. I expect to ask 10,000 or keep it.
Depeaux could have had it for 4,000, he hesitated. He won't get it.
Finally I am happy about the moral effect of the exhibition. I
showed only one Bather, which was well liked. Miss Cassatt com-
plimented me on it. I was wrong to exhibit it this year, since it was
not the chief attraction.
I am going to see Fen^on. The yap of La Revue Blanche seems
hostile to me,1 it is the organ of the new generation. Lately they
gave a banquet for Gustave Kahn; they sent me a card which I
received afterwards when I was working in Rouen. But banquets
for men of genius don't suit me at all !
My dear friend Arsene [Alexandre] came to see my pictures at
Eragny. Unfortunately I couldn't refuse to let him write a preface
to my catalogue, although I always find these pieces useless and
banal. Alas, you should read this morsel! And what is most comical
is that he is so pleased with it! Well, I have always been too agree-
able. . . .
PARIS, APRIL 25, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I saw Lecomte this morning, we discussed the article Geffroy
wrote about my show; he finds a certain hesitancy, not unpraise-
worthy, in my Rouen series. This notion is also developed in the
1 All the symbolist writers and artists, among the latter notably Paul Gauguin,
Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Felix Vallotton, etc., were grouped around tht
brothers Nathanson and Felix Feneon on La Revue Blanche.
287
other journals whose inexperienced critics haven't the guts to come
forward with their own ideas. If I were to find fault, I should on
the contrary object to the too great audacity shown in attempting
such a thing and to the fact that the paintings have too much verve,
the Roofs of Old Rouen excepted.
On the other hand I have had great success with the artists, so
much so that I am even somewhat disturbed. Contet, who knows
my painting, believes I changed my technique! Useless to assure
him he is mistaken, he will not give an inch. . . . And do you know
the reason for this? It is simply because I eliminated from my
palette the intermediary whites that gave me trouble. I left only
one white at the beginning and another at the end [of the row of
colors on the palette] , and then I added half an essence of turpen-
tine to mineral essence, thus I am completely liberated from neo-
impressionism !
On Thursday I went to the 1 nde pendants. The Signacs, my dear,
are really abominable 5 he has a portrait of his wife that is fright-
ful from every point of view; he has now gotten rid of planes,
values and drawing. The works of Cross are of the same order,
Luce is certainly less sick, but he too has the gangrene. I didn't
know how to make him understand that what I saw at his place is
completely false . . . some scenes of Belgium, burning factories,
night, moonlight, chimneys and landscapes . . . they are strong
blue, and lumpish. It is true they were done in the studio, and you
know how long it takes to get the effects you want when working
indoors. His drawings, though, are good.
There is an exhibition of Carriere at Bing's. He [Carriere]
has had highly laudatory articles from Geffroy. I didn't go to the
show, for I long ago became acquainted with the formula of this
"master"! The show is not a great artistic success, people are be-
ginning to see that he is a little too vague and of too little variety.
PARIS, APRIL 26, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Vollard spoke to me about exhibiting color engravings.1 This
simply annoys me, for I have only a few things, three in all, to
1 Vollard had begun to take particular interest in the graphic arts. In 189S he
published a Portfolio of lithographs by Bonnard, and in 1896 a Portfolio by Redon.
In 1896 and 1897 respectively, he published Albums of Painter-Engravers, each con-
288
58. — Lucien Pissarro: Portrait of Camille Pissarro etching in his
Studio, about 1895.
at
6
S-
U 2
c
o
in -rt
(33
►f1 £
j2
2 3
S °
S *
U
V
T o
d*
61. — C. Monet: The Cathe-
dral of Rouen, 1895.
62. — Photograph of the same
Subject.
show. But does he mean business? I really don't know. Vollard, of
this you can be sure, doesn't bother with anything he can't sell}
reputation ! The rest means nothing to him !
PARIS, APRIL 28, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I went to Bing's yesterday to see the Carriere show. It is worse
than ever, as sad and dull as could be. That is the general opinion
— really, Geffroy has no judgment!
At Durand's there is a decided change in my favor as a result
of the great success of my show. Degas, from what I hear, seems
to have spoken up for me. Sunday, I met Jacques Emile Blanche,
who told me that he had talked with Degas about my Rouens and
trees, and Degas, he said, praised them to the skies. You can
imagine how gratified I am by this after my long and patient
efforts.
ERAGNY, MAY 2, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Vollard is surely an idiot! I told him that he knew nothing
about Ricketts' gifts and that Beardsley had no talent, but here's
the rub, he is in with people who have reputations, he doesn't give
a damn about the others. He wants names, and he doesn't realize
that Ricketts is better known than the other.
Geffroy is looking for ways of being unfriendly, I sense his
hostility. He must be angry because his friend Carriere was such a
flop at Bing's, and doubtless he knows that all the impressionists,
from Degas to Guillaumin, unanimously find this art weak and
sentimental. Since he doesn't dare say anything against the im-
pressionists favored by the press, he tries to lay the blame on me.
. . . You will remember how we argued about Willette and Forain
at Georges Lecomte's wedding.
taining prints of various artists, chosen more or less indiscriminately. For reasons
which he makes clear in his correspondence, Camille Pissarro was not represented in
these Albums. The second one contained engravings by his son Lucien and by
Shannon, as well as by Bonnard, Cezanne, Cross, Fantin-Latour, Guillaumin, Lautrec,
etc.
289
PARIS, MAY 11, 1896
My dear Lucien,
One thing I greatly regret; it is that despite all the pains you
take you never succeed in being ready at the right moment. Which
reminds me that this faculty was one of my strong points. It has
enormous value.
I wrote Monet that Durand-Ruel has five thousand francs for
him. He wrote me a very cordial letter, saying that he had heard
wonderful things about my show and that he was coming to see it.
Saturday was the last day and he didn't appear; the beautiful
weather probably kept him in Giverny.
I am thinking about going to see whether I can paint in Can-
teleu. ... I will go any day now with Rodolphe, along the Seine,
from Rouen to Caudebec, which I have heard is very beautiful.
After this past winter's exertions, I lack the stimulus to work,
Eragny simply doesn't give me the lift I need. Is it that I am get-
ting too old? I have such a passionate desire to see a new environ-
ment, but I am detained by heaps of things.
ERAGNY, JUNE 22, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I received word from Vollard to the effect that his exhibition
[of prints] is a great success. He wants to know the prices I ask
for my prints in color. He would like to know whether my prints
were retouched with gouache, and by hand; everybody asks him
about this. Now what do you make of that? Strange! He would
like to know if any printer can pull the proofs and how many can
be made. I replied that I would only sell my prints when I had a
whole group of them, and that furthermore I made engravings just
for my own amusement and that I didn't care to sell them.
I am sorry I didn't see Vollard's exhibition, I should like to have
seen the new productions.
290
ERAGNY, JUNE 29, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Hardly had I begun to work from nature when I was forced to
leave off and go to see Parenteau. The probable cause is the east
wind, which rose the least bit yesterday.
PARIS, JULY 1, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I am enclosing a letter which I just received from Lepere. Read
it carefully, you will see that he wants to attempt to resurrect the
woodcut. This effort may not succeed, but the fact that it was con-
ceived means something and shows that there is much interest in
the graphic arts, so long abandoned in France.1 I think Lepere is
very attentive to the movement which is crystallizing bit by bit,
and since he has some influence, there is no point in discouraging
him by refusing. You need to show your work here; it is well, I
think, to have the support of those who may be useful in due
course. It is true that Lepere is associated with people who are
compromising in so far as real art is concerned, but one may hope
that the inevitable purge will take place all by itself, as happened
with the impressionists, who, to put it briefly, were not tainted.
Vollard is just leaving, his show has been successful. Shannon
has had a very great triumph. The fact is that his lithographs are
first rate; your woodcuts and mine, it seems, were very successful.
Vollard asked me my prices. He said there were a number of col-
lectors who wanted them. I told him again that in due time I would
make a portfolio of them.
Vollard also asked me whether you would do a book by Verlaine
for him.2 He intends to write to you about this himself when the
time comes, but this blessed Vollard is so fluttery, one doesn't know
what to believe. He has so many projects that he can hardly carry
out everything he has in mind !
1 At the end of the 19th century a renaissance of the graphic arts began in France
and in England. William Morris and his followers did for the movement in their
country, what Gauguin and his friends, as well as Lautrec and Lepere did across the
Channel. Lepere founded the review Image, which, during the year of its existence,
devoted itself especially to the woodcut and to which Lucien Pissarro contributed.
*It was not Lucien Pissarro, but Bonnard, who finally illustrated Verlaine1*
Parallelement for Vollard.
291
PARIS, JULY 5, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you the Vollard catalogue. There are good things
and atrocities. Shannon's things were well placed and were success-
ful, yours were not so favorably placed yet were successful also.
Vollard told me that he would have sold several Shannons if the
prices asked had not been so high. Here they must get masterpieces
for nothing !
Vollard commissioned me to do a lithograph in color, a large
plate, he would like a Market, he asked me what I would charge. I
told him I would have to consider the matter. This blessed Vollard
has grandiose ambitions, he wants to launch himself as a dealer in
prints. All the dealers, Sagot, Dumont, etc., are waging a bitter
war against him for he is upsetting their petty trade. He has talked
a lot about books for you to do, but he is a real moth, I am afraid
his fate will be the taper's flame! In any event, there is no point
in suffering disillusionment!
Met Raffaelli yesterday, and he told me with great enthusiasm
about his trip to America. An immense people, grandiose, full of
the future! he said; about Monet's success he had this to say:
Monet alone is recognized in America, enthusiasm for him has
reached such a point that Raffaelli actually heard a lady say:
"Monet is so great that all the other painters ought to paint Monets
(sic) ."I thought this was a gag, he assured me it had actually
happened, that the remark was meant literally.
PARIS, JULY 12, 1896
My dear Lucien,
What annoys me is being unable to work outdoors; I am making
gouaches and bathers here, and for lack of a model I am posing
myself!
As to Vollard, I can't follow him. He has so much imagination
that he forgets his proposals. When I return, I will ask him what
he thinks of the proposal he made about Verlaine !
Did I tell you that the color print Vollard wants me to do is to
be a lithograph? I should have preferred to do it in black and white,
but it seems that color is the fashion.
292
PARIS, JULY 16, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I went to see Vollard. We argued about the price of my litho-
graph in color j I had all I could do to get him to stick to the point.
You won't believe what he proposed! Really, they think they can
milk us! Drudge, work, they say, and we, we shall take it upon
ourselves to make the money! Arguing that Fantin-Latour sells
his lithographs (the plates) at 100 francs, he proposed to give me
500 francs for one hundred prints, the plate to be erased after-
wards. Naturally I didn't accept. He said then: "All right, let's try
this. Pull one hundred proofs at your own expense, give them to
me to sell at a commission. ..." If he thinks I'll agree to that, he is
mistaken. I will make the plate and then consider what to do.
Vollard told me that Vannier is the one who owns the rights to
certain of Verlaine's works, that he obtained them for a crust of
bread. Vannier wants 500 francs for the rights, what gall! You
can't do anything with Vollard, no more than with Bing, Sagot
and tutti quanti, unless you are willing to be fleeced.
I told Vollard he ought to make Degas a proposition for his
lithographs — no danger!
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 2, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I am preparing to go to Rouen, providing, that is, that Durand-
Ruel grants me the necessary funds. I am very anxious to know
whether he will want to take the four pictures of Eragny, three of
which seem to me better than the Rouen paintings. It is true that
the motifs are of green trees and that the general tone is rather
grave and restrained, and the collectors don't like anything with
a grave note.
Gutbier, whom I asked to return my engravings, sold two of
them : The Hovel [D.20] and The Stone Bridge. He asked me for
new ones. I sold The Hovel for 1 00 francs, the other for 75 francs.
Vollard was nettled, he who found 150 francs for a print in color
too dear! He persists in asking me to make a deal with him. But
what would be the point? I am sure he has no collectors ; but per-
haps I shall send him some small gouaches.
293
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 4, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Vollard is going to have a press for lithographs in his place, rue
Laffitte. This Creole is amazing; he wheels from one thing to an-
other with startling ease. Poor Vollard! I told him that he was
venturing into a field that one has to understand thoroughly, that
prints don't sell, the dealers don't know much about them and de-
pend solely on tricks, like posters, color prints, etc. . . . He has been
tormenting me lately to let him handle a few of my gouaches or
lithographs. The day before yesterday I showed him three things
I was going to have matted, he didn't even look at them, he left
me standing there to show me a Cezanne and didn't think about
my things again. So it will be a long time before I take the trouble
to show him anything. This young fellow is really too flighty.
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 5, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Your mother insists that I should not give you 300 francs per
month. She must have spoken of this to you. For a long time now
she has been arguing about this with me. I try to reconcile all
parties but I don't succeed very well. All I can tell you at the
moment is that you can be sure I will help you if conditions are
not too bad.
I am writing you hastily, your mother may come to Paris today.
I shall not discuss this question of money with her, it would ac-
complish absolutely nothing and advance us not a step. She doesn't
realize the difficulties of a beginner in art, nor does she understand
that one can find a place in this field if one has the will to do so.
And I have listened and shall continue to listen only to what my
own experience counsels. You have to get in a good position to
succeed in your field and, as you say, we have to prevent that other
profit from what you have taken so many pains to establish. So,
for my part, I will do my utmost to send you the 300 francs with-
out speaking about it. I insist on this, it is to avoid wearisome dis-
cussions with your mother. I will send you the money some other
way, this will depend on the circumstance, but in any case I shall
send it. I am forewarning you, that is all. It is disagreeable to be
294
underhanded, but damn it, it's no go otherwise ! — This is the only-
way to avoid arguments!
Your mother is afraid that I am helping you too much and thus
depriving your brothers, but this is not so ; when their turn comes,
I expect you to be more secure and I will do for them what I am
doing for you three ; it's not much, but I do the best I can.
If things don't improve we'll have to get along somehow, that's
all. . . . Durand-Ruel fears there will be a terrific crash in this
blessed America : this matter of the free coinage of money.1 If the
president elected is in favor of this, we shall have our hands full.
HOTEL D'ANGLETERRE, COURS ROIELDIEU
ROUEN, SEPTEMBER 8, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I am in Rouen. From my hotel window I have a different view
of the harbor than from that of the Hotel de Paris. I am letting
my view of the landscape resolve itself. Sensations don't come all at
once — I shall stroll a bit first.
ROUEN, SEPTEMBER 20, 1896
My dear Lucien,
You are completely right to say that the masses feel no need for
art and take no interest in it, but this, I think, is as true in England
as elsewhere. Money is everything. . . . My boy, we must take the
times for what they are and keep ourselves in check, that is the
best we can do. We old ones have gone through all that, we remem-
ber the contempt those idiots showed for us when we tried to solve
our problems. So if by chance you find someone who wants to
exploit you, you can consider yourself damned lucky, unless you
happen to be as shrewd as the dealers !
1 W. J. Bryan, Democratic candidate for the presidency, advocated the free and
unlimited coinage of silver. The Republican party, whose candidate was William
McKinley, opposed this measure.
295
ROUEN, SEPTEMBER 50, 1896
My dear Lucien,
The new movement Ricketts ironically urges you to support
seems to me absurd, at least for you, since this neo-catholic move-
ment dovetails with the reactionary turn of the upper bourgeoisie,
which is fearful of the rising anarchist philosophy. Damn it, neo-
catholicism may be in style for a bit, but since real belief is neces-
sary for it to succeed, the chances are that it won't get very far,
everybody can't be as sick as Huysmans is, his talent notwithstand-
ing . . . no, des Esseintes cannot be our standard-bearer . . . return
to nature, healthy and beautiful. No, I hope the movement will
not succeed. So much the worse for it if it does. In any case it must
be combatted! I am sending you an issue of La Societe Nouvelle,
read the article on the Semitic God and the Aryan God, it is the
last of a series, you will see that scientists clearly foresee a march
in a new direction which will be neither neo-Christian nor Jewish.
We are on the right track, be faithful to your sensations.
ROUEN, OCTOBER 2, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I received your books yesterday.1 They are really splendid, they
are in exquisite taste.
What you said last time about Ricketts' views on the future of
neo-catholicism keeps running through my mind. You are right in
believing that if this movement succeeds, we — or rather you, the
young generation — would be severely threatened. It is true that it
could not last, it is philosophically outside the ideas of our time,
and then there is the question of the genius of those who favor this
art. What reassures me is the knowledge that to create this move-
ment, belief is indispensable . . . and this is not likely 5 to believe
one has to do more than read the book of a man with a bad stomach
(Huysmans) !
I am working like a nigger! I am working on ten pictures at
once . . . every kind of effect. I have a motif which should be the
despair of poor Mourey: just conceive the new section of Saint
1 Lucien had just published the Book of Ruth qnd the Book of Esther.
296
Sauveur right opposite my window, with the Gare d'Orl^ans al-
ways new and shining, and a mass of chimneys from the gigantic
to the diminutive with all their smoke. In the foreground, boats on
the water, to the left of the station, the workers' quarters which
extend along the quays up to the iron bridge, the bridge Boieldieu,
you should see all this in the morning when the light is misty and
delicate. Well now, that fool Mourey is a vulgarian to think that
such a scene is banal and commonplace. It is as beautiful as Venice,
my dear, it has an extraordinary character and is really beautiful !
It is art; if I consult my sensations, I find that there is not only this
motif, there are marvels on every side. ... I would rather start
from a real scene like this than begin with hypocritical senti-
ments. . . .
I have been drawing that little statuette I mentioned to you;
when I have tracing paper I will send you a copy. It is nature to
the life and not religious, no more so than much of the Gothic
and Renaissance works. I am anxious to go and do a corner of La
Cour de la Maitrise in the Cathedral, which they are going to tear
down. I want to do a splendid etching!
While looking for paints this morning I ran into Anquetin. He
told me that he hadn't done any work, that all he had been doing
was riding horses, that he simply had to use his energy in this way,
that painting bored him ! Doubtless he wanted to pull my leg. . . .
Besides it's fashionable now to play the fool!
ROUEN, OCTOBER 8, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Mirbeau began last Sunday a series of articles on the Symbolist-
Catholic-Primitives. . . . Although perhaps he isn't too well-in-
formed, he will say a few good things, and then I feel that at bot-
tom he is defending our ideas, the idea of beauty based on nature.
. . . The sensation of art is well off; he gives a drubbing to Maurice
Denis and Mourey, a good smack to Le Bare de Boutteville, a fillip
to Monier de la Sizeranne, to Camille Mauclair, the one who attacked
my painting on the ground I liked nothing but cabbages, which
isn't enough. He [Mirbeau] reviews the prostituted religious art —
and there is more to come. So much the better!
I'm really sorry that I am no longer in touch with him, but I
297
will try to let him know through Monet that I am very pleased
[with his article] . This is the only way of defeating this reaction-
ary movement which, I believe, is absolutely in contradiction to the
real tendency of our modern philosophy. Reaction is trying to take
over, but it is too late, people no longer believe in the authority of
God, religion, government, etc. . . .
ROUEN, OCTOBER 12, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you a package of newspapers in which I marked
Mirbeau's article on neo-Christian art entitled : Botticelli Objects.
There is also in Le Gaulois an article by Mirbeau, whicn should
be read. I believe that these articles with all their faults represent
the correct position and that here we have a nucleus of people who
are not losing their perspective. And for a long time now I have
been afraid that Ricketts and maybe even Shannon might lose
theirs !
ROUEN, OCTOBER 20, 1896
My dear Lucien,
I agree with you that Burne- Jones has made excellent illustra-
tions, but bad, very bad paintings. If I had to be influenced, I
should prefer to be influenced by the authentic French Gothics,
whom I have here under my eyes all the time. It is amazing how
natural they are despite their decor ativeness, and they are free
from the sentimentality and affectation of the modern artists who
call themselves their pupils. . . . But Degas is much closer to French
Gothic. And Rembrandt is closer to the Gothic than these people.
... I am at the moment looking at quite a large photograph of the
Woman Bathing, and its character is so much closer to the Gothic.
. . . And it is even ornamental, my dear ! Do you know what you
lack? Confidence in yourself. ... If you could see the things that
I find here, in Rouen, you would understand what I mean.
Well, never mind, Mirbeau says foolish things, mixes things up,
but at bottom he is right to pounce on those who, on the pretext of
achieving a style, distort nature, draw badly and don't dispose of
298
values properly. . . . Shannon has admirable gifts, but let him be-
ware of the pretty, of sentimentality, of anglicized Grecianism, and
let him make good pictures with adequate values and without
tricks; let him depend on vital sensation like the Gothics, Degas
and some of the impressionists. You will perhaps think me a little
severe to say some of the impressionists — but I think I am correct.
ROUEN, NOVEMBER 6, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Yesterday evening I received your letter and also the very beau-
tiful engraving for L'lmage; 1 it is truly superb and truly ours. It
makes me think of the things we once tried to do, Monet in his
large canvases and I myself in the big picture I was working on in
1 868—1869, the one in which you posed with poor Minette in our
garden at Louveciennes.2 Your engraving is not all like Shannon's,
it is very good, and I like its clear aspect. There are one or two
lines in the dresses that could have been more supple, and there is a
buckle that seems somewhat exaggerated. This is perhaps because
the shadow was not introduced in the way you desired. The girl
about to mount the staircase also has one harshly drawn line ; but it
doesn't amount to much . . . the ornamentation is beautiful.
McKinley is elected! So Durand just wrote me a very friendly
letter in his own hand — Ques aco?
ROUEN, NOVEMBER 11, 1896 3
My dear Lucien,
I am leaving tomorrow morning by express for Paris. I must go
and have my eye cauterized by Parenteau, it is again inflamed. I
just dispatched to Eragny fifteen pictures, in which I tried to
represent the movement, the life, the atmosphere of the harbor
thronged with smoking ships, bridges, chimneys, sections of the
city in the fog and mist, under the setting sun, etc. ... I think that
what I have done is bolder than what I did last year. I had the luck
1 Sec fig. 63.
2 A reference to Monet's first plein air painting: Femmes au jarrtin, now in the
Louvre. The whereabouts of Pissarro's picture are unknown; it seems to have been lost.
1 See fig. 64.
299
to have boats with rose-colored, golden-yellow and black masts. One
picture is colored like a Japanese print 5 that won't please the neo-
catholics. . . . But at least I painted what I saw and felt; perhaps I
am deceiving myself for the motifs are fleeting, they don't last
more than one, two, three days. . . .
PARIS, NOVEMBER 15, 1896
My dear Lucien,
The boys are leaving England Tuesday evening. They want to
go to Barcelona. I would ask nothing better, only I gave them to
understand that I have positive information to the effect that the
recent victories of the Cubans and the last presidential election in
the United States have given the Spanish Republicans a marked
impetus, so that there will no doubt soon be a big uprising in the
peninsula and that Barcelona will be one of the principal seats of
the rebellion; obviously, foreigners are likely to get into trouble.
They can do as they please.
PARIS, NOVEMBER 26, 1896
My dear Lucien,
If you remain in England, you will be associated rightly or
wrongly, with English art. You say that's not so bad! Yes, indeed,
but you must side with the art that best suits your temperament.
It seems to me that your place is here. The sole end I have in view
in speaking of this is to influence you to make the best decision.
On the other hand, you are right to say that people are skinflints
here ; you are telling me ! Official art murders us, and our collectors
bluster in vain, for all their fuming they are at bottom conven-
tional; on the other hand, some instinct thrusts them towards
pantheist art. . . .
I have spoken to Georges and Felix. There is a misunderstanding
underlying your disagreement, which I have done my best to dis-
sipate. Georges does not like Ricketts' work at all and accuses him
of borrowing constantly from the great masters. And between the
two of us, let me say it is only too obvious. You will tell me that it
is done in a manner based on principle with purpose aforethought.
300
63. — Lucien Pissarro: Roses d'Antan. Woodcut, published in
L' Image in 1896.
Yes, but we belong to another school. If we were to borrow hands
or feet from Diirer, I think the result would not be satisfactory.
Carry Ricketts' reasoning further and the drawings of Degas are
nothing. . . . We impressionists have precisely the opposite attitude.
And note this, we have an altogether different concept of what it
means to be inspired by the ancients. We ask nothing better than
to be classics, but we want to achieve that in terms of our own
experience : how different that is !
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 28, 1896
My dear Lucien,
Every time I noticed some defect in your work, I spoke of it to
you, and I shall do so again. I believe I told you that from the point
of view of our experience of art I much prefer The Queen of the
501
ti-cTd d'CUijtttMt u 1700 ah
llmdurJ&mt
.. ftdr 9<Vi®i&2L
Cur vo<t* ffeafay&£ .
fa HtowtUi£Ht; dc (&$& fa
teXms^^ fafiMl^St jmk
-de 4l b<tXketi9f fmumU- fa
j£j^ fa CtmuiAs , fa fo«a%
6*aai(Jk*rf , J#AA accefcd«f<»
502
tot\f U */ to. & tut qui &L t&
Cdtdit tdumu, im. {flavor j&-~
zfiOtuuStSj C't&efeou' UL/Lieciteu
fms cut* 'utc - Ctdtittcyu*
Ufejki (Oil- *> fiL fl& tXL «/-
£eub UesLfLOSSllb ftaft
tuufidvL dUtm, Car te autfi
ICC (16S&4- (l<U falfJeuoK U4tf
it Rfcfci *•*£ e/-A te*#
T)€xt%iidt' •'
Tact juh. w
64. — Facsimile of Camille Pissarro's letter dated Rouen, November 11, 1896.
303
Fishes, not because the engravings are in color, but because of the
whole conception of the book. I also told you what I thought of
your last engraving and I urged you to devote yourself resolutely
to our art, meaning the art of the impressionists, who have nothing
in common with the others. I fear only that you are yielding not to
religious or mystical art, but to sentimental art. As I see it, mis-
takenly perhaps, the Pre-Raphaelites were somewhat sentimental
and their descendants are much more so. . . . Sensation, yes, senti-
ment, too, damn it!
Yes, you are right, you must stick to your rough Eragny style,
and I am glad Ricketts noticed that while you are not a decorator,
your work is decorative. . . . But does Ricketts begin to understand
that there is something besides the Greeks?
304
65. — C. Pissarro: La
rue de l'Epicerie a
Rouen, 1898.
66. — Photograph of
the same Subject.
67. — C. Pissarro: Le Pont Corneille a Rouen, 1896.
68. — Photograph of the same Subject.
69.— C. Pissarro: The Roofs of Old Rouen, 1896.
70. — Photograph of the same Subject.
. — L' Avenue de 1'Opera, Paris, 1896.
72. — Photograph of the same Subject.
18 9 7
ERAGNY, JANUARY 3, 1897
My dear Lucien,
The day before yesterday we heard from the boys. They have
left Saint-Sebastian, which is unlivable because of the continual
storms that prevail in those parts for much of the winter. At first
they had elected to go to Madrid, suddenly they changed their
minds and went to Barcelona, which for quite some time they had
dreamed of visiting. Unhappily they didn't have a chance to enjoy
the visit. They had hardly arrived when they had a brush with the
police, who doubtless had been spying on them, watching them
making sketches in the harbor, near the fortifications, anywhere
and everywhere without precautions! At about three o'clock in the
morning the police came to their room with a search-warrant,
ransacked their trunks, taking with them letters, newspapers, etc.
. . . Luckily for them an artillery captain with whom they had
become acquainted, a man with a fondness for painting and paint-
ers, kept the police from arresting them and advised them to take
the nine o'clock train for Perpignan that very morning, which they
did! Now they are in Perpignan and will soon be on their way to
England, which they should never have left. . . . The whole trip
has been a failure ! My advice to look for a place in England where
the climate is mild and there is no fog as in London was, after all,
the best solution, and it would have been more economical, too. . . .
305
PARIS, JANUARY 17, 1897
My dear Lucien,
We are going through a miserable period. I fear every minute to
get bad news from Durand-Ruel, and there is no escape, not a ray
of hope anywhere. Durand-Ruel rejected the gouaches he had
ordered from me, not because he didn't care for them, but because
the clients he had expected vanished. They have changed their
minds as a result of the advice of German dealers. . . . Thus I have
worked a whole month for nothing. I feel very discouraged, for
there is not another dealer who wants to handle anything. . . .
PARIS, END OF JANUARY, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I am going back to Eragny tomorrow morning. During my stay
here I was able to do six small canvases, which should defray the
month's expenses, the pictures are of effects of snow on the rue
Saint-Lazare and the rue d' Amsterdam [981—985].
I heard from the boys, who arrived safely in London.
The Vever auction took place on Monday and Tuesday. The out-
come was excellent for Monet who had a dozen things, five or six
that were first rate, one canvas brought 21,000 francs, a Degas
brought 10,000 francs, a Sisley 2,500 francs, a very poor Lebourg
the same sum, 2,500 francs. I had two things not too good, 900
francs! There were fifteen Sisleys which ranged from 1,500 to
2,000 francs, twenty-five Lebourgs, all poor stuff, really bad, these
got high bids, it is past understanding! And you should have seen
how poor they looked next to the others! It was unlucky for me,
for the auction made a big noise j it brought Lebourg success like
that! They tell me it was Manzi who bid for the Lebourgs. Good
for him but sad for art! ... A Daubigny brought 72,000 francs! —
it was a small canvas of about 25 x 21 inches .... An admirable
Corot, a marvelous landscape which simply obliterated the Dau-
bigny, brought only 7,000 francs. Did you ever hear of such a
thing? Really, sincere and beautiful works are not liked. A fairly
large Puvis brought only 22,000 francs.
306
ERAGNY, FEBRUARY 8, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I am returning to Paris again on the tenth, to do a series of the
boulevard des Italiens. Last time I did several small canvases —
about 13 x 10 inches — of the rue Saint-Lazare, effects of rain,
snow, etc., with which Durand was very pleased. A series of paint-
ings of the boulevards seems to him a good idea, and it will be
interesting to overcome the difficulties. I engaged a large room at
the Grand Hotel de Russie, 1 rue Drouot, from which I can see
the whole sweep of boulevards almost as far as the Porte Saint-
Denis, anyway as far as the boulevard Bonne Nouvelle. If you de-
cide to come to Paris, I have two beds in my room.
HOTEL DE RUSSIE
PARIS, FEBRUARY 13, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I have unpacked and am stretching some large canvases [986-
1000]. I am going to get one or two ready to paint the crowd on
Shrove-Tuesday. I don't know if I can manage it, I am very much
afraid the serpentines will hamper me no end 5 at this moment I
have some beautiful effects of rain, — very beautiful.
PARIS, FEBRUARY 18, 1897
My dear Lucien,
Did I tell you that the Luxembourg Museum, the annex, has
opened? A crowd formed around the impressionist paintings [Cail-
lebotte's bequest] and made a terrific racket. . . . The room is
narrow, of a poor sort, badly lighted, the frames are miserable,
and the pictures are stupidly hung. ... I saw a critic, Monsieur
Jourdain, (Francis) , who was highly indignant. . . . He swore
that it was done deliberately out of cowardice and hypocrisy ; and
indeed this good fellow who was so irritated against the administra-
tion, who was infuriated because we are not decorated, and who
struts around with a big ribbon of the Legion of Honor in his
buttonhole and seems to be so proud of it, well now, didn't this
307
same Francis Jourdain write a spiteful idiotic article against Renoir
during his wonderful exhibition last year, treating him like a weak-
ling? . . . that's how they all are. On this score, someone told me —
but I don't believe any of it — and strictly in confidence, — that
Mirbeau has aspirations to the Academie. . . . That's pretty stiff!
What's the good of clamoring against it all one's life just to cringe
in the end? It's like those Freemasons who attack the priest and
wind up by calling the priest to their deathbed! What a comedy!
No, I can't believe that of Mirbeau! They say his wife is behind it!
Just a farce !
PARIS, MARCH 5, 1897
My dear Lucien,
Your book must be finished and in Vallette's hands and you must
be working on your survey of printing and the art of the book.1
Have you received the prospectus of the review Mellerio is going to
edit : L'Estampe? On the cover are the masters of engraving, among
them Lepere, Steinlen, Vierge, Gustave Dore, and for the etching,
Bracquemond, Legros, Rops. It will sell for six francs a year. I
haven't much faith in Mellerio's ideas, he's a timid one.
I have a number of things going.2 At Shrove-Tuesday I painted
the boulevards with the crowd and the march of the Boeuf-Gras,
with effects of sun on the serpentines and the trees, the crowd in
the shadow [995—997]. Probably you won't see this series, just as
you didn't the last Rouen paintings, the latter have gone to New
York and this new group will go to join the others. Durand-Ruel
is organizing an exhibition of my Rouen paintings in New York.
PARIS, MARCH 10, 1897
My dear Lucien,
In connection with the Caillebotte collection at the Luxembourg
we can be satisfied with the quality of the works : Renoir has his
Bal au Moulin de la Galette, which is a masterpiece ; Degas has
1 Reference to a little book, De la Typographic et de William Morris, which Lucien
was going to publish in collaboration with Charles Ricketts.
2 See fig. 81.
308
some very beautiful things 5 Monet has his Railway Station ,• Sisley's
things are perhaps not his most careful works, but they are in-
teresting enough. I have two of the best things I did in 1877, as
good as those in your mother's collection.1 Only they're hung
stupidly and very vilely framed, that's all. The young artists and
some of the good collectors have paid me the highest compliments.
But then there's the struggle, the fight against us by those of the
Ecole des Beaux- Arts — they don't understand anything about it;
nothing surprising in this, they don't know anything. Real paint-
ers and people who can understand them are very scarce. Haven't
had time to go there but Degas told me about it. I do think that
while the collection is not complete it is a very good one and that
the Renoir is admirable. I'm sending you some newspapers.
L'Eclair publishes an interview with Gerome (the Institut has
protested to the Minister of Fine Arts) , he takes Renoir to task
and says he should not be confused with Renouard, for the latter
can draw and has talent! The limit! ... A reply in Le Temps, in
which Gerome is soundly rated. This idiot has made himself ridicu-
lous and the Institut also. Which is all right with us. The truth is
they are angry and we are right. At least, so I am convinced. But
you may be sure that all this will do us a lot of good, this protest
has been a sensation and things won't stop there.
You tell me that you are beginning to realize that you must shift
for yourself and not depend on Ricketts, but that's obvious ! I will
advance you money to move. I must tell you since we are on the
subject of money, that I am changing my will and that Tessier is
handling it. He tells me that, in order to prevent any litigation, I
must make or rather keep an account for each child to whom I send
money, so that if necessary a reckoning can be made and so that
there will be no jealousy. As I want to spare you annoyance, I am
doing it; and then he advises me to send him some savings so that
there will be a fund in reserve. I will do my utmost in this regard,
it won't be easy, I will have to redouble my efforts. However, I will
send you what you need to move.
1 Among the pictures in the Caillebotte collection finally accepted by the state were
seven canvases by Camille Pissarro [17 J, 364, 384, 387, 416, 493, S37].
509
PARIS, MARCH 11, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I was present at the Goncourt auction, which took place at the
Hotel Drouot. Their prints were sold at absurd prices, 200 to 300
francs for very dry and very ordinary modern prints ; better things
at 5 or 10 francs can be gotten at the dealers. Goncourt didn't
know very much. Hayashi, whom I saw, and Theo van Ryssel-
berghe were both flabbergasted ! Everyone was taken in !
PARIS, MARCH 16, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I met Lepere at Durand-Ruel's yesterday. He's quite satisfied
with the sale of Vintage. Lepere assured me that you would be
successful in France, that the English movement is waking up the
sleepy heads and that there will certainly be a serious revival.
Lepere says that you ought to assist this movement with your
talent and experience. It is a question, I say this in confidence, of
not allowing the vulgarizers to take the lead. But that's the diffi-
culty : whether you are in England or here, the movement will be
just the same and you would benefit less by remaining in London 5
on the other hand, Ricketts will watch you working in London not
without some apprehension. . . . You'll end up by quarreling, that
would be bad. Forewarned is forearmed!
The discussion over the impressionists [on account of the Caille-
botte bequest] is making the round of the press, each puts in his
more or less sensible opinion, only Mirbeau, Geffroy and Arsene
Alexandre have kept a prudent silence, at least until now. Duret,
whom I saw last night, assured me that I was very well represented,
the least good things are those by Sisley and Monet and these were
quite good. Durand-Ruel is delighted and the other dealers are
furious !
PARIS, MARCH 18, 1897
My dear Lucien,
Your book arrived. Very beautiful, very polished, the first page
with the ornament of Salome, the typography, etc., has the stamp
310
of a master. What matter if they cry that it is English, Morris-like,
Gothic? — it is art. . . . The cover is charming, it is a beautiful
book!
PARIS, MARCH 28, 1897
My dear Lucien,
My pictures are progressing, but certain effects are holding me
back. In two months I have set fourteen paintings on my easel and
developed all of them 5 I even have fifteen — and you know, they
have been thoroughly pondered. ... I only work for two hours in
the morning and two hours in the evening — and even less, some-
times.
PARIS, APRIL 13, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I know that MelleVio is preparing a work on engraving, no
doubt he will also discuss typography.1 Here, when something is
taken up, everybody wants to participate in it. At the moment
prints are the exclusive interest here, it is a mania, the young
artists no longer do anything else. Note that Bracquemond doesn't
know about what you are doing, and here his word is law. ... I
only half trust his judgment, for, as you know, he is dogmatic,
cold and inconsistent; you have seen in Mellerio's review what the
latter thinks of Bracquemond, Vierge, Lepere, etc. . . . Here is a
disquieting symptom, light must be shed. I have already begun
with Mellerio on our encounters at Vollard's exhibitions.
I have almost finished my work here, one or two more sessions
of sun and I shall have. Unfortunately the sun hides obstinately.
1 Andre" Mellirio's book La lithographie originale en couleurs appeared in 1898, illus-
trated by Bonnard. It is chiefly devoted to the works of Lautrec, Bonnard, Cheret,
Steinlen, etc., as well as to Vollard,s publications.
511
PARIS, APRIL 17, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I am packing my things and sending my sixteen canvases to
Eragny. I shall repair to the Hotel Garnier, which is much less
expensive. I am going to look for a place to work this fall, some-
where near the quays, perhaps near the Luxembourg Garden.
PARIS, APRIL 21, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I have already pointed out to Mellerio how reactionary is his
position, and at the symbolists' exhibition at Vollard's, I made him
aware of certain absurdities. I took him to task severely on the
question of etchings and of Bracquemond, whom he considers
outstanding, ignoring Whistler, Degas, Merion. . . . About my
work, I surprised him very much when I told him I had made more
than 100 plates. . . .
"You are not au courant, my dear," I said to him.
I read in the catalogue of de Goncourt a preface by Bracquemond
on prints! a monumental piece of stupidity about the Japanese. . . .
He speaks of values, he, who only makes details!
It is amazing how the attack of the members of the Institut
[against the Caillebotte bequest] has served our cause. This mo-
mentum will take us far if we know how to hold fast about art. . . .
Your mother expressed the wish to sell the paintings in her collec-
tion. That would be most unwise for me, particularly now; all the
small dealers are after me, they don't stop making offers, they want
me to leave work with them and sometimes they even want to buy.
If they happened to find out that your mother wanted to sell, they
would be at our heels !
ERAGNY, APRIL 29, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I am settled here again. Without delay I set to work outdoors.
The country is magnificent, the apple trees are heavy with blossom,
312
the field is superb with green. The weather is somewhat variable,
little storms interrupt me, but the temperature is very mild.
We all hope you will decide to spend the summer here. I am
counting a great deal on your coming. I hope you will be able to
see my series of Boulevards [986—1000] at Durand-Ruel's. I am
just retouching them and I won't delay sending them to Durand.
Did I tell you that I have been to the Luxembourg? I am quite
satisfied with my pictures, I think I am very well represented.
They are presented, for example, as only officials could conceive of,
in a passageway, and the pictures are crowded one next to the
other. This won't surprise you, experience has taught us to be pre-
pared for bad taste in French museums !
In the spring of 1897 , Lucien contracted a serious illness in
London. His father went to join him in England and then returned
with Lucien, his wife and their child, to Eragny, where the young
artist recovered. During his stay in London, Camille Pissarro
painted several landscapes in Bedford Park [1005—1008]. The
correspondence between father and son was continued again after
Lucien, still weak, returned to London. His brothers Georges and
Felix were then also in England, where Felix in turn fell seriously
ill. Madame Pissarro immediately came over to tend him.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 23, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I received Esther's card announcing that you all arrived in good
order.
I hope that now you are back in your own circle, you will be
able to set to work. You must give proof of will-power 5 it is also a
question of habit. With a little courage you will succeed.
313
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 30, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I sent Esther a little box with a pair of scissors that she had left
here. Along with these I sent a pair of spectacles, which I found
shining in the sun under the seat of the large walnut tree ; I saw
them while I was making a study. Soon I hope we shall find, little
by little, everything Esther lost in field and garden.
Are you going to begin to do a little work? I think it would be
well for you to set to it, you have to organize your time so as to
be able to be outdoors early in the morning and set to work at will.
P.S. Esther should find the shoe in question in her basket, she
had left it in the basement ; it is a pity that all the things she sows
can scarcely take root and blossom!
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 7, 1897
My dear Esther,
I am delighted to hear that Lucien is really well. I should like
to see him take up again his former habits of work, write his letters
himself, draw, in a word, little by little busy himself with the
affairs of life; he really must do this.
Did I let you know that I had received a letter from a review in
Munich asking my permission to reproduce a picture "A House in
the Country," [227] which was recently bought by the Berlin
National Gallery. Surprise ! Thus, my pictures sell !
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 14, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you a batch of newspapers that will bring you up
to date on the Dreyfus case, which is so agitating public opinion.
You will realize that the man may well be innocent, at any rate,
there are honorable people in high positions who assert that he is
innocent. The new brochure of Bernard Lazare, which has just ap-
peared, proves that the document the General gave the press is a
forgery. Lazare's contention is supported by twelve scientists of
different nationalities. Isn't it dreadful?
314
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 22, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I received a letter Saturday from Doctor MacNish in reply to
the one I wrote him asking his opinion about our going to London.
He says that for the present neither your mother nor I need go
away, that Titi is relatively past the crisis ; but your mother had
already gone — on Thursday night. I would have gone too, but I'm
afraid of complications with my eye.
ERAGNY, [NOVEMBER 26, 1897]
My dear Lucien,
I have had no news of you except from Georges, who told me
that your mother has been to see you and found you improved. I
am so anguished about you, I would be happy to learn that you are
beginning to busy yourself with some little projects. It is a great
consolation to be occupied with something; it is, incidentally, what
I force myself to do here, I try to work.
Georges writes me that Titi is not too bad. Here we are all quite
well, the children are very kind and have taken over their mother's
duties handsomely.
PARIS, 111 RUE SAINT-LAZARE
DECEMBER 15, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter and Esther's. I can't tell you how glad I am
to see that you have been able to brave the disastrous news of the
death of our poor Titi, whom we loved so much, our hope, our
pride. We were afraid to inform you and didn't know how to con-
ceal our great grief from you, but in such fatal circumstances we
have to be resigned and think of those who are around us. To give
way to discouragement would be terribly dangerous, and we must
surmount what we could not prevent. In our misfortune I was able
to see how well Georges rose to the occasion, he evidenced great
strength of character, for he kept your mother from making her-
self ill. Well, my dear Lucien, let us work, that will dress our
315
wounds. I wish you strength, I want you to wrap yourself up, so
to speak, in art 5 this will not keep us from remembering that fine,
gentle, subtle and delicate artist, from loving him always.
Mirbeau has written a remarkable piece about our poor child.
Unhappily, as a result of this wretched wet weather, my eye has
again become inflamed, not much, it is true, but I had to go again
to Parenteau to have it cauterized, it is better now, but I have to
keep going to him. . . .
I forgot to mention that I found a room in the Grand Hotel du
Louvre with a superb view of the Avenue de 1' Opera and the
corner of the Place du Palais Royal ! It is very beautiful to paint !
Perhaps it is not aesthetic, but I am delighted to be able to paint
these Paris streets that people have come to call ugly, but which are
so silvery, so luminous and vital. They are so different from the
boulevards. This is completely modern! I show in April.
PARIS, DECEMBER 21, 1897
My dear Lucien,
I am leaving tomorrow for Eragny. I hope you are all wellj as
for myself, I'm quite all right, my eye is completely healed.
I am hoping to return on about the 5th of January to the Grand
Hotel du Louvre, where I shall begin work for my exhibition. This
will cost a lot, but Durand-Ruel seems to be encouraging me to do
it. I am well disposed for work and after having looked at the
motifs carefully, I think I will accomplish my purpose.
Embrace my little Kiddie for me, we wish her a Merry Christ-
mas, though for us the holiday will be so sad !
516
1898
ERAGNY, JANUARY 3, 1898
My dear Lucien,
This is just a line to let you know that I am going to Paris on
Wednesday, January 5, to the Hotel du Louvre, 172 rue de Rivoli.
I will write you at greater length from Paris.
I have chosen a little thing by Titi for you, I shall frame it and
send it to you. I am keeping the last things he did, they are quite
remarkable j if you only could see these framed, they are very beau-
tiful and have exquisite finesse j he was an artist!
HOTEL DU LOUVRE
PARIS, JANUARY 6, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I unpacked yesterday. I have two big rooms with large windows
from which I can see the Avenue de l'Opera. The motif is very
beautiful, a real painter's motif [1018-1032] } I have already be-
gun two canvases of about 36 x 28 inches.
I hope nothing will keep me from my work. I left Eragny very
disturbed about your mother's condition; while she has just recov-
ered from the grippe, what really worries me is that she appears to
be completely discouraged and in a state of nervous exasperation
such as I have never seen her in before. She weeps for our poor
Titi night and day, that is understandable, but what is less so is
i See figs. 71-74.
317
her belief that we are all indifferent, that none of us thinks of our
poor little one. Because I do my best not to awaken our grief, your
mother regards me as a bad father lacking in sensibility and with-
out affection for the poor boy. Everybody doesn't feel the same
way, Georges and I live with Titi by arranging his drawings and
pictures, and we feel his absence when we see what a subtle artist
he was. Your mother's exasperation is, of course, the result of her
grief and of overworking herself in London tending our son. I have
done my best to persuade her to rest, but she resists all advice. If
I gave way to discouragement, what would become of us?
PARIS, JANUARY 13, 1898
My dear Esther,
The Dreyfus case is causing many horrible things to be said
here. I shall send you UAurore, in which there are the very fine
pieces of Clemenceau and Zola. Today Zola accuses the General
Staff. Aj albert has published a very courageous article in Les
Droits de F Homme, but the bulk of the public is against Dreyfus,
despite the bad faith shown in the Esterhazy affair. I heard
Guillaurnin say that if Dreyfus had been shot at once, people would
have been spared all this commotion ! He is not the only one of this
opinion ! At Durand-Ruel's, everyone took this view except for the
door-man, and I heard many others speak that way too^ Alas for a
people so great in '93 and '48 ! The Third Empire has indeed been
pernicious in its effects.
PARIS, JANUARY 15, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I will find out the addresses. You really want to send your book
to everybody? Some, despite their reputations, are very indifferent.
I am very distrustful, I am always afraid of seeming a little too
insistent to certain people. There are, however, our friends who
will be delighted to receive your book. You should send me two
copies, one for M. Pereira and one for Viau. Huysmans, Puvis de
Chavannes? Do you think they would be interested? Out of
courtesy, perhaps? Degas? Perhaps. I think that Monet, who has
318
always been so kind to us, and even Mirbeau, would be much more
appropriate. Paul Alexis? Good Lord! — he is a fine fellow, but
heavens, he is blind !
PARIS, JANUARY 21, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I repeat that you should not worry, the anti-semitic ruffians are
much less noisy and aggressive since the beating they received at
Tivoli Vauxhall, where they had organized an anti-semitic dem-
onstration. No, it is becoming clear now that what we are threat-
ened with is a clerical dictatorship, a union of the generals with
the sprayers of holy water. Will this succeed? I think not. Indig-
nation against the General Staff seems to be growing here in the
provinces, the socialists are active, it is possible that the clouds will
lift. But will the review of the trial take place? No one knows. I
hope it will not interfere with my work, for I am in high fettle.
I realize that you want to send your book to as many as possible.
Here are the addresses :
G. Geffroy, 133 rue de Belleville
Andre' Mellerio, 1 1 rue Portalis
Arsene Alexandre, 20 rue Gerando
A j albert, 55 rue de la Faisanderie
I will find out the other addresses.
I will send you some newspapers. You will see in Les Droits de
V Homme an article by Aj albert, revealing what Degas, the fero-
cious anti-semite, thinks. . . . Your book will be ill received in that
quarter!
PARIS, JANUARY 23, 1898
My dear Esther,
Didn't you receive my letter? I mentioned that I am painting the
Avenue del' Opera and a bit of the Place du Theatre Francais, it
is a splendid motif and my canvas is progressing nicely.
Yesterday I saw at Joyant's an album of reproductions of Degas'
drawings published by Manzi. It is superb ! It is here that one can
see what a real master Degas is; his drawings are more beautiful
319
than Ingres', and, damn it, he is modern! One doesn't feel that
element of official art which offends me even in Watts!
PARIS, JANUARY 27, 1898
My dear Lucien,
You are right not to permit yourself to be too upset by the hue
and cry about the Dreyfus case. For the present, these are little
brawls, but behind this case a second May 17 is being prepared,
a clerical coup d'etat and a coup d'etat by the army. The question
still to be determined is how the elections will go. Unfortunately
the masses haven't the least understanding of what is going on;
they assume a social struggle is being waged against Capital with-
out asking themselves who will be defeated — they dislike the
Jewish bankers, and rightly, but they have a weakness for the
Catholic bankers, which is idiotic.
I am sending you several addresses :
Puvis de Chavannes, 89 Avenue de Villiers
Huysmans, 1 1 rue de Sevres
I shall send you other names.
The little picture of Felix will be sent Monday or Tuesday. You
will hang it, won't you? We have hung one in our dining room, it
is charming and looks so well beside the other paintings ; but these
were his last sketches. Poor boy, what a subtle and delicate gift he
had. His memory never leaves me. What a dreadful separation !
PARIS, JANUARY 28, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Things are beginning to calm down around here; at least, the
demonstrators are keeping quiet. The trial of Zola is awaited
impatiently; he will evidently be found guilty, for everybody
declares that the government is in the right and that Zola should
have minded his own business. . . . There speaks prejudice, you
see, but one cannot with impunity conceal the truth, sooner or
later it will out.
320
73. — C. Pissarro: La rue
Saint-Honore, Paris, 1896.
74. — Photograph of
the same Subject.
75. — C. Pissarro: Le
Marche Saint- Jacques a
Dieppe, 1901.
76. — Photograph of
the same Subject.
77. — C. Pissarro: Le
Pont Neuf, Paris,
1902.
ffiWI
E ■>•■«■—«•■':•
■mi; -" jJJlJU
ii*tJL4
^^
a
4
*»*V
V.
78. — Photograph of
the same Subject,
taken by the Artist's
son Rodolphe in
1902.
.
- _••
_
— -—
IS. ^Kr^
Wi
'
v^^H
*4
i
*
j
i
,»i«ifr J|
w
~zM
•
2? . 1W
v 1
.
fcTll**?*^
o
- "^ — -•._
i
1
*•■■•*• ^V^^ * ■ ^^
^^^
■P^"
-
-v
79. — Camille Pissarro, Photograph, about 1895.
PARIS, JANUARY 31, 1898
My dear Lucien,
The newspapers report that Huysmans has definitely entered the
religious fold. So keep your book for someone else. Another invalid!
I ran into Blache, he has become religious and anti-semitic ! All
cracked. He seeks to revive what was so well done when it was
believed in, but today this has no use for anyone; yes, it has, it has
value for deceiving poor simpletons!
We shall see many others like them, all those who have turned
up their noses at our age and who have nothing inside !
PARIS, FEBRUARY 10, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I had positive news about Huysmans; you see, I know the head
clerk at the Librairie Stock, a man who used to go with us to the
cafe La Nouvelle Athenes. I learned from him that Huysmans had
been at Stock's recently, had inquired about me and asked the
clerk to send me his greetings. It seems that the story of his having
taken religious orders is completely false, Huysmans said this re-
peatedly, he had allowed the newspapers to spread the story, he
didn't say a word in denial, thinking that this would be good
advertising. . . . The clerk assured me that he had not changed,
except that he had found an interesting mine to exploit. ... It was
a canon who announced that he had taken orders, believing that
this was so. What a comedy of the times!
Send him your book, he will be delighted with it. As for Degas,
he is so peppery, don't send it to him, he is even apt to return it.
Things have hardly improved. You can read the account of
Zola's trial in the Daily News. It is favorable to Zola, since it was
written by Duret. You will notice that all the witnesses for the
prosecution were unwilling to answer the questions of Zola's at-
torney; nevertheless, the truth emerges, breaks through. Zola will
be condemned just the same, the mob is against him, he will be
condemned even against the evidence! No, the people want a ty-
rant, they unanimously assert the infallibility of the army. Poor
France! Who could have imagined this nation, after so many
revolutions, enslaved by the clergy like Spain! The slope is slippery.
321
And now I see that you are right to stay in England, where you
can expect a little more justice and common sense. Here I fear the
end has come. There will be nothing left but the symbolists. Can
you see art represented by Schuffenecker? . . .
PARIS, FEBRUARY 22, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Don't worry any more about the Zola case. No new anti-
semitic outbursts. Anti-semitism is now condemned even in the
Chamber of Deputies : it is propagated only by immature idiots
who do not even shout any longer. The government is mighty sick
of the whole affair, but does not know how to dispose of it; people
are beginning to reflect. Grave, whom I saw yesterday, says it is all
over, it will be hushed up soon like the Panama Canal scandal !
I am working very hard, I have finished six canvases and am on
four more, I am not wasting my time. I counted to some extent
on the Carnival, but the weather is frightful, it is hailing. You
see a fancy carriage in the middle of the empty avenue, its oc-
cupants benumbed and of pitiful mien.
PARIS, MARCH 7, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I went to the Legros exhibition at Bing's. Very important. For
me his etchings are much superior to his paintings, although to
this superiority Rembrandt here and there lends a hand! Loving
Rembrandt as I do, I find his imitators too far beneath him. No,
really, these works are much too labored, dull, rather black in tone,
and even the motifs of conical huts are too imitative. What's the
good of looking to the past and never at nature, so beautiful, so
luminous, so full of novelty? Always in the path of the old masters,
who surely should not go unheeded because we venerate them!
It seems to me that the better course is to follow their example by
seeking with our own senses elements in our own environment. I
am talking nonsense, perhaps, in saying this, but I stick to my
guns. I have seen some Courbet landscapes recently. They are far
superior and really Courbet's. And take Cezanne, his expressiveness
322
didn't come from his not being himself. What's the good of un-
wearyingly repeating everything that has been done so well? And
Manet? And Degas, who constantly pushes ahead, finding expres-
siveness in everything around us? They don't show weakness! In
fact it makes me sad to see a man as well endowed as his colleagues
failing because of a theory! Such, my dear Lucien, are quite
frankly the thoughts that came to me as I looked at the work of
Legros. I did not feel the whiplash of originality.
George Moore has come to Paris, he should come to see me, but
I haven't caught sight of him. Durand-Ruel told me that George
Moore had been asked by a friend to buy impressionist paintings,
to the amount of 3,000 francs. He would like to get a Manet, im-
possible, 12,000 francs, a Degas, 20,000 francs, etc. He will prob-
ably have to content himself with some unfledged Academicians.
He has not come to see me. Why?
PARIS, MARCH 23, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Anquetin is having an exhibition — just drawings — at Hessel's,
rue Laffitte. Another one who rummages in the portfolios of the
masters j it is Michelangelo he robs, brazenly yet slavishly, and
very clumsily. It seems that he is delighted when this is perceived.
Whoever the influence, Manet, Renoir, etc. ... it is always im-
potence. That's the example of Legros! About Shannon I think as
you do that he lacks progressive ideas in art, but this is not pre-
cisely what I have most in mind : the real question is personality,
individuality. Nobody would think of denying the strongly marked
individuality of a Rembrandt, or even of a Manet, who comes from
Goya but brings an entirely different vision, a very specific and
modern consciousness, which Goya could not have envisaged. That
Corot comes from Lorrain and reflects him is evident, but it is also
clear to what degree he transformed what he took, in this lies all
his genius 5 his figures are as modern as you please. In short, it is
only here [in France] that artists are faithful to the tradition of
the masters, without robbing them.
323
PARIS, MARCH 27, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Signac has gone to London for about a week's stay. Strictly in
confidence, so don't be indiscreet: Lecomte has informed me that a
book is to appear on neo-impressionism from Delacroix to Signac.
The author is Signac.1
This seems to be a secret, so don't breathe a word. The author
reviews all the painters and winds up with the appearance of the
dot. . . . How much better it is for a painter to make a good picture 5
literature is for literary men and painting for painters, as the say-
ing goes !
PARIS, APRIL 11, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Floury gave me your two volumes. He is quite satisfied, and he
told me that he had purchased the lot. Yes, it will get around, but
let me give you a bit of advice : protect your instinct, your in-
dividual taste. I am very happy to hear that you have begun to
work with ornamented types of fount.
I have finished my work here [1018-1032]. Durand-Ruel is
taking everything.
PARIS, APRIL 26, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I am going to try to leave Paris on Thursday. I sent twelve
canvases to Durand-Ruel this morning, I am keeping three for us.
ERAGNY, MAY 2, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I am completely happy to be able to breathe the air here and to
see green pastures and flowers. I have set to work so as not to lose
the habit. . . .
1 Signac published in La Revue Blanche a book entitled De Delacroix au Neo-
impressionnisme, in which he tried to show that neo-impressionism was the logical
heir to and consummation of the art of Delacroix.
324
Ill RUE SAINT-LAZARE
PARIS, MAY 29, 1898
My dear Lucien,
In regard to Rodolphe, the best thing would be for the two of
you to arrange matters when you are together. I would certainly
like to see the two of you in sympathetic agreement. I, who am
without bias, see clearly that there is little concordance, very sim-
ply because of the general ideas tenaciously held to by both sides.
If only you could discuss theories and forget your opposite views
once the discussion closed ! But ideas bite in so deeply that what is
an incident of little importance becomes a cause of conflict. It is so
foolish to attach importance to these discussions. Good Lord, let
each one have his own notions! This is my constant plea. How
many times haven't I been in disagreement with you, Esther,
Ricketts and others! This doesn't prevent me from seeing things
differently when the affairs of daily life are in question. It seems to
me that all of us are not built the same.
The interesting thing to remark is that Rodolphe has a lot of
good sense, considering his youth. In art he has the same ideas that
I have and that you held years ago at Eragny; it is only experience
that he lacks. The fear of being involved with a theory which he
thinks is false and sentimental makes him resist. . . . Knowing the
underlying problem and what is in the boy's mind, it should be
easy enough for you to encourage him to follow his own bent and
avoid anything that might deflect him. I express myself badly, no
doubt, what I mean is that you should leave him free to go his in-
evitable way.
My Avenue de VOpera series is hanging at Durand-Ruel's. I
have a large room devoted just to my things. There are twelve
Avenues, seven or eight Avenues and Boulevards, besides studies of
Eragny, all of which I am well satisfied with. In addition there is
Blossoming Spring, on which I worked for two consecutive years,
and which, I think, is the best thing I ever did. Durand-Ruel is
well satisfied. In the neighboring rooms there is a group of admir-
able Renoirs, another room has some superb Monets, a room is
devoted to Sisley, and the last small room to Puvis de Chavannes.
So the gallery is filled with impressionist works. My Avenues are
so clear that they would not suffer alongside the paintings of Puvis.
325
PARIS, JUNE 6, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I am going to pack my trunks and go to Macon.1 This trip
doesn't mean anything to me, I have so many projected paintings to
realize that displacing myself is just upsetting to me. No question
about it, one makes progress only when painting what one knows
thoroughly, and hence I have even played with the idea of going
to Pontoise to repaint many of the motifs I studied in time past.
My exhibition is a decided success, practically no one but Arsene
Alexandre, who attacked it in Le Figaro, was unfavorable. . . .
PARIS, JUNE 18, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I am sending two paintings to America, to the exhibition in
Pittsburgh, I was invited by the director, a charming man. He also
invited me to be a member of this year's jury, with traveling ex-
penses paid both ways, and for the best hotels, by the Pittsburgh
Museum. I would stay for fifteen days. Naturally I declined, out of
principle.
GRANCEY-SUR-OURC, JUNE 27, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I will spend one or two days in Dijon to visit the museum. I
probably won't spend more than a week at Macon. These places are
very beautiful, but I won't work there, I am afraid to stay for very
long on account of my eye. I will probably return to Rouen. . .
The village is very picturesque, it is a pity it is so far off. I did
several poor watercolors at Troyes, Chatillon and Grancey, but I
am beginning to make some better ones now.
1 Mme. Pissarro wanted to visit with her husband the village Grancey-sur-Ourc near
Mdoon, where she was born.
326
'la*s-
V U*V<u*v '""J
80. — C. Pissarro: St. Urbain's Church at Troyes. Sketch from the artist's
notebook, 1898.
LYON, JULY 5, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Lyon is a great and beautiful city, at times you think you are
in Paris. The quays of the Saone are really beautiful ; but the city
is not picturesque, although there are indeed fine avenues and
lovely sights. For instance, there is a fine museum with completely
beautiful decorations by Puvis de Chavannes; his famous Sacred
Wood makes a superb effect in the monumental stairway resem-
bling the one in Rouen. In the museum there are superb primitives,
works by Tintoretto, Veronese, there is a Greco, there are things
by Claude Lorrain, etc. ... A beautiful portrait by Chenavard. I
am going back today to see the famous cartoons of Chenavard [for
the decorative paintings in the Pantheon] ; in fact it is the museum
which interests me most. Macon and Chatillon-sur-Seine would
have been better as far as painting is concerned, although there
ought to be some beautiful motifs on the outskirts of Lyon. It is the
houses that are displeasing to me, they are commonplace and with-
out character, the houses in Paris are superb by comparison 5 here
they are as alike as the double sixes in dominoes.
327
HOTEL D'ANGLETERRE
ROUEN, AUGUST 12, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter simultaneously with Rodolphe's card an-
nouncing his arrival in London. In regard to what you say in your
letter, I am sorely perplexed as to how to advise you. Looking at
the problem in the light of my experience, I see so many contradic-
tions. Most often, restraint, instead of guarding one from harm,
precipitates one into it. It is practically impossible to keep a young
man from going where his passions lead him. Often the accident
of an unlucky meeting is enough for ruin to follow. Do you
imagine that education, the example of others, prevents anything?
Just observe what happens in all societies, here as in other coun-
tries, the young are all the same; I recently had an opportunity to
observe the extraordinary results of free education and of authori-
tarian education. You know as well as I what follows from the
training given in the seminaries and what follows from that given
in the English universities. One produces sodomists, the other,
rakes. Which is to be preferred? The first is against nature, yet
protects one from the accidents of which you speak, the other leaves
one to the mercy of an unlucky encounter. . . . That is the truth
of the matter, we have only one weapon, our own judgment. When
I recall that as a young man I found myself free, absolutely free,
left to my own resources in a foreign land, and when I consider
that I had the luck never to fall into misfortune, I ask myself what
counsel I could give? All I can suggest is judgment and a wise
suspiciousness . . . and yet — I am waiting for news from Rodolphe
the grumbler. . . .
Nota: the author of this letter had a powerful anodyne: Art!!
ROUEN, AUGUST 19, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I received your letter this morning, I am very happy that Rodo
and you are on such good terms and that he has decided to stay
with you.
For a long time now I have been casting about for some way to
put five hundred francs aside to buy the press for you, but I haven't
528
been able to. Since I can't always work at Eragny, I am forced to
go to places where I can find attractive and interesting motifs, and
this is expensive, very expensive. Fortunately I am still able to
work. Yesterday I discovered an excellent place, where I hope to
paint the rue de l'Epicerie and even the market, a really interesting
one, which is held there every Friday [1036— 1038]. 1 Unfor-
tunately there was thunder and rain today. I shall put aside what-
ever I can and send you money for the press as soon as possible.
I do not doubt that Morris' books are as beautiful as Gothic art,
but it must not be forgotten that the Gothic artists were inventors
and that we have to perform, not better, which is impossible, but
differently and following our own bent. The results will not be
immediately evident. Yes, you are right, it is not necessary to be
Gothic, but are you doing everything possible not to be? With this
in view you would have to disregard friend Ricketts, who is of
course a charming man, but who from the point of view of art
seems to stray from the true direction, which is the return to
nature. For we have to approach nature sincerely, with our own
modern sensibilities ; imitation or invention is something else again.
We have today a general concept inherited from our great modern
painters, hence we have a tradition of modern art, and I am for
following this tradition while we inflect it in terms of our individ-
ual points of view. Look at Degas, Manet, Monet, who are close to
us, and at our elders, David, Ingres, Delacroix, Courbet, Corot, the
great Corot, did they leave us nothing? Observe that it is a grave
error to believe that all mediums of art are not closely tied to their
time. Well, then, is this the path of Ricketts? No. It has been my
view for a long time that it is not a question of pretty Italian ele-
gance, but of using our eyes a bit and disregarding what is in style.
Reflect in all sincerity. . . .
ROUEN, SEPTEMBER 9, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Just a line to let you know that I just wrote Durand-Ruel to send
you five hundred francs to buy the printing press.
1 See figs. 65 and 66.
329
ROUEN, OCTOBER 15, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I shall leave in three or four days for Eragny. I am waiting for
some money from Durand-Ruel in order to leave Rouen ; it seems
he has to be pressed. I shall have to come to a decision when I
arrive in Paris in a few days. This is what I expect to do : take
advantage of the fact that there is an exhibition of Rembrandt in
Amsterdam, go there for the show and at the same time see if there
isn't something to paint. This summer I received several letters
from M. Meier-Graefe, begging me repeatedly to send some pic-
tures to M. Uterwijk, saying that he had collectors for my works 5
the most practical thing would be to go and see for myself. I have
also had offers from Berlin. So I shall go and see what the situa-
tion is.
Durand-Ruel strongly urged me to take this trip, he encourages
me to go there to work when the fancy takes me, it is what I intend
to do. I will have an opportunity to go to The Hague and see M.
Uterwijk and above all try to effect some sales more profitable than
those to Durand-Ruel, who has given me the same prices for ten
years. ... It is true that he takes all my work, but on the other
hand, he has too much power over me.
PARIS, NOVEMBER 1, 1898
My dear Lucien,
We have been back from Holland since Sunday night. Zan-
domeneghi made the trip with us. These eight days in Holland
could not be surpassed, we were favored with magnificent weather.
What superb landscapes and beautiful pictures we saw ! The Rem-
brandt show was comprised of some forty or so works of the first
order, and the museum of Amsterdam is very interesting. One
really has to spend several months in Holland just to see the mu-
seums; what do eight days amount to? I can hardly remember all
the masterpieces I saw. I hope to go back some day.
I shall return to Eragny. I expect Georges today. He has taken a
studio in Montmartre with Rodolphe. Thus we shall be all alone at
Eragny; I don't know how we'll manage.
330
PARIS, NOVEMBER, 1898
My dear Lucien,
I haven't had time to write about what I felt when I looked at
the admirable works of Rembrandt. The thought that struck me
after I had seen not only the Rembrandts, but the works of Franz
Hals, Vermeer and so many other great artists, was that we modern
painters, we are unassailably correct to seek where they did not or
rather to feel differently from the way they did, since different we
are, and their works are so definitely of their time that it would
be absurd to follow them. And then, as I have so often said, I am
suspicious of those adroit painters who know how to make pastiches
of the old masters. I have not for these artful ones as much respect
as I have for painters who, incapable of masterpieces, yet look with
their own eyes. But how can I describe Rembrandt's portraits to
you? The paintings by Hals, and the View of Delft by Vermeer,
are masterpieces akin to the works of the impressionists. I returned
from Holland more persuaded than ever to love Monet, Degas,
Renoir, Sisley. . . .
Amsterdam is an admirable city, full of movement and of the
unexpected; I hope to return in June. The hotels seem to be located
by the best sites, along canals bordered by trees or near the port. I
have seen marvelous things to paint, aspects full of freshness, ef-
fects of bland or misty clarity which our ancestors never attempted
to transcribe. Happy are the artists who look at nature and love it!
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 16, 1898
My dear Lucien,
You ask me why I bring my pictures to Paris. Very simply, not
to have to leave them here while we stay in Paris, for I am very
much afraid of the effect on the canvases of the winter wetness. I
have selected my best things, some forty odd pictures. The family
will spend the winter in Paris, we are looking for an apartment $ we
shall stay until April or May and return to Eragny for the summer.
I haven't found anything yet which your mother approves. She
has been in Paris since yesterday to look for a place. I still don't
know whether I'll have to look for a separate studio ; you realize
of course how inconvenient it would be to attempt anything at all
331
at home. If I find something to paint along the quays, I will try to
get a place there. As for living near the quays, no, it is too far
from the railroad. Moreover, once my pictures are finished I
wouldn't have to live there. Not a very neat solution! But all I
know is that after January I will have to do a good series of things
that will interest Durand-Ruel, otherwise I'll be penniless. ... I
hope, if my health holds out and nothing comes up to deflect me, to
go to Holland for a truly beautiful series.
HOTEL DU LOUVRE
PARIS, NOVEMBER 19, 1898
My dear Lucien,
You need not worry about my safety here. For the moment
we have to deal with nothing more than a few Catholic ruffians
from the Latin Quarter favored by the government. They shout :
Down with the Jews! but all they do is shout. The healthy majority
has come to its senses and understands that the object of the shout-
ing is to overturn the Republic, or rather to make the Jesuits abso-
lute rulers. I believe and hope that in the end free men will have
the upper hand. Yesterday, at about five o'clock, while on my way
to Durand-Ruel, I found myself in the middle of a gang of young
scamps seconded by ruffians. They shouted: Death to the Jews!
Down with Zola! I calmly passed through them and reached the
rue Laffitte. . . . They had not even taken me for a Jew. . . .
Protests against the verdict in the Zola case abound everywhere.
All the intellectuals protest, and there are the socialists who organize
meetings; the day before yesterday the socialists and the anarchists
made a terrible row against the meeting of Rochefort and the
Jesuits. Who could have imagined such behavior from Rochefort?
The idiot, he lost his bearings this time. France is really sick, will
she recover? We shall see after Zola's trial. I wrote him a few lines
to express my whole-hearted admiration. Yesterday I received a
card from Mirbeau asking me to sign the protest with Monet and
various others. Despite the grave turn of affairs in Paris, despite all
these anxieties, I must work at my window as if nothing has hap-
pened. Let us hope it will end happily.
332
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 4, 1898
My dear Lucien,
We have engaged an apartment at 204 rue de Rivoli, facing the
Tuileries, with a superb view of the Park, the Louvre to the left, in
the background the houses on the quays behind the trees, to the
right the Dome des Invalides, the steeples of Ste. Clotilde behind
the solid mass of chestnut trees. It is very beautiful. I shall paint a
fine series [1097-1110, 1123-1136].
The deuce! here is still another potential artist. . . . Kiddie shows
skill in drawing, it was written that she would. Her drawings are
already full of sentiment, elegance, waywardness.
ERAGNY, DECEMBER 18, 1898
My dear Lucien,
Coming here I found the frontispiece of your book. You ask
what I think of your woodcut : considering the kind of aesthetic
idea in which the drawing is conceived, I have nothing to say, since
everything I would object to has been done on purpose. Thus the
only thing I can judge is the line, which seems up to the level of
what you have already published, and the execution of the actual
cutting seems excellent to me. Esther has acquitted herself admir-
ably. I think it will go well with Ricketts' lettering.
At this moment I am having an exhibition at Pittsburgh, in the
United States, and a show of my works is to open in Moscow.
Durand-Ruel exhibited our work in November in Berlin and
Munich. I have had no reports from these various exhibitions; we
serve the purposes of the dealers, we are left without even the satis-
faction of knowing whether we have had some success.
333
18 9 9
204 RUE DE RIVOLI
PARIS, JANUARY 22, 1899
My dear Lucien,
We have at last moved in and unpacked and I am hard at work.
I have the Jardin des Tuileries facing me and to the left the Place
du Carrousel and the Louvre, it is very beautiful. Until now I have
only been able to begin effects of grey and rainy days, for since our
arrival we have had miserable weather with winds that could un-
horn bulls. They sweep across this great open space and make a
deafening racket.
Just now we are having an exhibition of Boudin, who died re-
cently. Fine and skillful work. The small early canvases are pretty;
there is more delicacy than strength.
Sisley, I hear, is seriously ill. He is a great and beautiful artist,
in my opinion he is a master equal to the greatest. I have seen
works of his of rare amplitude and beauty, among others an Inun-
dation [in the Camondo collection] , which is a masterpiece.
About the drawing you are beginning: I think you ought to
keep working on it. You must understand that adroitness is not
indispensable. Didn't Renoir paint ravishing pictures with his left
hand when he broke his right arm? Yes, it will come to you.
The Dreyfus case is not progressing too quickly, but it is not
going too badly either. The Chamber of Deputies voted against the
reactionaries by big majorities several times in a row; the latter
will certainly have a hard time going against the current. The anti-
1 Sisley was to die at Moret-sur-Loing on January 29, 1899, in complete destitution.
334
Semites and Esterhazyites are already beginning to be ridiculous,
and that is always fatal!
PARIS, MARCH 16, 1899
My dear Lucien,
I am drudging away, although I have had to discontinue work
at times on account of the heavy mists. I have fourteen canvases on
the easel, of which twelve are finished. The motifs of the Carrousel
and the Jardin des Tuileries please everybody, but so far I have had
nothing but effects of fog. I am awaiting the thrust of the leaves
and flowers so as to get more varied effects.
As for financial matters, I am quite content, if not in view of the
money I have actually obtained, then at least in consideration of
the way the future looks and of the position in which I am now
vis-a-vis of Durand-Ruel. A syndicate has been formed (always!)
of Georges Petit, who seems to be a big dealer, Montaignac and the
Bernheims, father and son, who have undertaken to push my work.
They have just bought some thirty odd pictures of mine from
Durand-Ruel and several collectors for an exhibition which will
open on the 25th of this month. It seems they have already sold
half of this just purchased collection. And now, as an immediate
consequence, Durand has to be very kind to me. I have just refused
to sell to the syndicate j I hope that now Durand will permit me to
raise my prices.
PARIS, APRIL 12, 1899
My dear Lucien,
I have done much work on my Tuileries series. I shall have an
important canvas, The Garden of the Tuileries on a Winter After-
noon, for an auction the proceeds of which are to go to Sisley's
children. It is a canvas of about 36 x 28 inches; there will also be a
Monet and an important Renoir. It is expected to be a sensational
sale.
Durand-Ruel has opened an important exhibition; a whole room
of Corot, one of Sisley, one of Monet, one of Renoir, and a room of
my work.1 It seems to be a great attraction. . . .
1Pissarro was represented by thirty-six canvases executed between 1870 and 1898.
335
PARIS, MAY 23, 1899
My dear Lucien,
I sent Durand-Ruel eleven of my Tuileries canvases, I am keep-
ing three of them.
Right now Durand-Ruel is holding a splendid exhibition of
Jongkind, three rooms are devoted to him. After this there will be
a show of Puvis de Chavannes.
George Moore was in Paris recently, he bought one of my draw-
ings from Portier and sent me his book on art {Modern Painting] .
I didn't run into him.
There are quite a few of my pictures that have been sold lately
at public auctions. Since my prices are going up, the collectors are
putting on sale a quantity of small canvases which come from God
knows where !
ERAGNY, JUNE 17, 1899
My dear Lucien,
I went to Arques. It is true that there are any number of Eng-
lishmen there, but this doesn't bother me too much, and then,
wherever the English are there are always accommodations; no, it
isn't that, but the fact that the country doesn't suit me; it is too
panoramic, while I am in search of nooks and corners. ... I have
found nothing better than we have here, that is to say, from Pon-
toise to Rouen. Caudebec is really not very beautiful and the winds
are as lusty as in Dieppe.
ERAGNY, JULY 28, 1899
My dear Lucien,
You ask whether I have made my decision for the season. Yes
indeed: I am not budging from here, I have been harnessed to
my work since June, I have begun some motifs in the field, some
with figures. I have reason, I think, to congratulate myself on
these things. I think they will be interesting. Later on I will prob-
ably continue my work at Gisors where I haven't painted for years,
it will be a novelty!
It is very beautiful for the layman, but for the poor painter the
weather has been extraordinarily changeable !
336
81. — C. Pissarro: Le Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, 1897.
C^WB
82. — C. Pissarro: La Seine et le Louvre, Paris, 1901.
83. — C. Pissarro: La Place du Vert Galant (Pont Neuf) , Paris, 1902.
84. — C. Pissarro: Selfportrait, about 1900.
85. — Lucien Pissarro: Girl with Geese. Woodcut, 1899.
ERAGNY, AUGUST 28, 1899
My dear Lucien,
Having finished my summer's work I am considering a little trip
to Varengeville, near Dieppe, in order to vary my motifs some-
what.
VARENGEVILLE-SUR-MER
SEPTEMBER 27, 1899
My dear Lucien,
I received the two volumes in perfect condition.1 It is very well
done and all to your honor. The ornamented page is without ques-
tion the most beautiful you have ever made, it is full of style, very
1 Jules Laforgue: Moralites Legendaires, 2 volumes, published by Lucien Pissarro.
337
decorative and sufficiently like nature to go well with the type of
fount 5 the gold blends admirably with the light greenish-grey tone,
the drawing of the figures is charming, the lettering is firmly
drawn, the geese are very beautiful ; I am delighted with the wood-
cut of the geese.1
I think you have well developed your own style and I am certain
that all you will do will attract much attention. I am very glad
you are devoting yourself to engraving, I am sure you will succeed.
PARIS, NOVEMBER 24, 1899
My dear Lucien,
Your little proof, enclosed in your last letter with the two prints
of Daphnis and Chloe, is very charming, very delicate, and sound
in its naivete. If you take my advice, you will not publish the two
cuts of Daphnis and Chloe. They are dark, heavy, and seem at once
too complicated and banal, they would not go well with your let-
tering. I apprised Vollard of the exhibition of your books, for he
has a shop which is soon to be transformed. It is as ever on the rue
Laffitte, the same spot. I expect to speak of it to Floury and I shall
tell you what he thinks of it. . . . If only nothing comes along to
upset things here! For there is much talk of expelling the Jews,
which would be the last straw!
PARIS, DECEMBER 1, 1899
My dear Lucien,
I should like nothing better than to rework the Daphnis and
Chloe for you, but I am completely occupied with painting from
my window, and for the moment it would be difficult to try any-
thing else. Tell me if it is urgent. Why don't you attempt it your-
self? You have the qualities necessary to succeed in this style, your
drawing is so appropriate for the book. . . . Well, I'll see if I can.
i See fig. 8S.
338
1900
PARIS, MARCH 3, 1900
My dear Lucien,
Here they don't look at a book as a totality, even the young
artists who try to do good work haven't learned this. Thus, yester-
day Vollard showed me a galley for a volume of Verlaine with a
sixteenth-seventeenth century type. It was illustrated by Bonnard
(a young artist) , the drawings are rendered very freely by the
[lithographic] process. . . . To my objections Vollard replied: "But
this is seventeenth century typography." I saw a book done by
William Morris, which I found repellent. . . . That's the situation
here. Denis (the painter) is going to do Daphnis and Chloe with
woodcuts. He will certainly make some pretty cuts but the ensemble
will undoubtedly be poor.
I think you should stick to your idea of making your own fount
of type. But what I particularly advise is to avoid too elongated
figures in the drawings for your cuts, such figures ring false. One
can be simple, natural and yet very expressive ! I think more can be
learned from French works, from the Lenain brothers, even from
Chardin, than from the Italian school, over-subtle and too graceful.
Besides, Italian art is not in accord with your temperament. You
need a cunning hand, like Whistler and others. Whistler always
seems to be dancing on a thread, while creating with much talent
Spanish-Italian works. But he has no profundity.
539
PARIS, MARCH 16, 1900
My dear Lucien,
I found an apartment on the Pont Neuf [28 Place Dauphine] .
It has a very fine view.1 I am going to move in July. This should
not influence your trip here, I am simply afraid of failing once
again to avail myself of a picturesque part of Paris.
Be of good courage, and until next time! Try to come before
June. The Exposition Universelle hasn't made much progress j any-
way it will be a monstrosity — bazaar, music-hall — well, that's the
taste of the day !
PARIS, APRIL 21, 1900
My dear Lucien,
We, that is to say, the impressionists, have a room at the cen-
tenary exhibition, and it seems that we are very well represented.
Durand-Ruel finally decided to occupy himself with it. The Bern-
heims told me yesterday that it is very fine and that it will be sen-
sational ; our room comes after the one devoted to the school of
1830. There will even be some Cezannes; the latter, by the way, is
very much in vogue, it is extraordinary! Yesterday I learned that
five of my pictures have been bought for Berlin. The present price
of the Sisleys is between 6,000 and 10,000 francs, of the C^zannes
from 5,000 to 6,000, the Monets from 6,000 to 10,000, even the
Lepines are getting high prices !
PARIS, APRIL 26, 1900
My dear Lucien,
Decidedly, we no longer understand each other. What you tell
me about the modern movement, commercialism, etc., has no rela-
tion to our conception of art, here at least. You know perfectly well
that just as William Morris had some influence on commercial art
in England, so here the real artists who seek have had and will have
some effect on it. That we cannot prevent stupid vulgarization,
• 1 See figs. 77, 78, 82 and 83.
340
86. — Lucien Pissarro: La Belle au Bois dormant. Woodcut, about 1900.
even such things as the making of chromos for grocers from figures
of Corot ... is absolutely true. Yes, I know perfectly well that the
Greek and the primitive are reactions against commercialism. But
right there lies the error. Commercialism can vulgarize these as
easily as any other style, hence it's useless. Wouldn't it be better to
soak yourself in nature? I don't hold the view that we have been
fooling ourselves and ought rightly to worship the steam engine
with the great majority. No, a thousand times no! We are here to
show the way ! According to you salvation lies with the primitives,
the Italians. According to me this is incorrect. Salvation lies in
nature, now more than ever.
Let us pursue what we believe is good, soon it will be evident
who is right. In short, money is an empty thing ; let us earn some
since we have to, but without departing from our roles !
341
PARIS, JUNE 17, 1900
My dear Lucien,
The day before yesterday I visited the [English Section of the]
Centenary exhibition. There are hardly more than two good things,
the portrait of Shannon, a pure Watts, very skillfully done, in fact
overdone and lacking in blood. Shannon is not the color of a cooked
Hindu. No, my dear, there is no point in repainting the old masters
however skillfully you do it, even Watts, even Whistler, especially
Whistler, adroit as he is, fails alongside of Manet and Renoir, lack-
ing inspiration. There is the same monotonous repetition, one feels
the process behind it. The Ingres are marvelous, Delacroix is poorly
represented with very few things, there is a fresco by Chasseriau
which is admirable and shows us where Puvis de Chavannes got his
inspiration ; it is like the work of Watts in simplicity of tone but
the style is much superior. Also by Chasseriau a superb portrait,
something entirely different. I saw an Odalisque, rather, a nude
woman and a head, by someone named Trulat of Dijon, of whom
little has been said, it is admirable 5 he must have been a pupil or
school fellow of Gericault or Delacroix. He was born at Dijon in
1824 and died in the same city in 1848. You will find it interest-
ing.
PARIS, JUNE 22, 1900
My dear Lucien,
Your early woodcuts in color had a personal savor which distin-
guishes them from those you did since under the Italian influence
of Ricketts. Whatever the reason, this is the fact. And it is incon-
testable that art in England is generally under this influence, and I
do not know if I am right, but looking at the English exhibition I
felt that the works lacked life, as do all things which are wanting
in personal intuition.
PARIS, JUNE 28, 1900
My dear Lucien,
I am fairly well satisfied with the prices that my paintings
brought at recent auctions; my canvases have gone up a good deal,
342
as I wrote you: one picture brought 8,400 or 8,500 francs; at
another auction one canvas got 5,000 francs and recently the prices
have been around 7,000, 6,000 and 5,000. The pictures, dating
from 1874 to 1880, were in very good condition and looked very
fine. They were of motifs of Pontoise, trees, slopes, a corner of the
public garden with figures. All these paintings are very luminous
and rich. This is pretty good, I hope the collectors will ask me for
some.
GRAND HOTEL DE BERNEVAL
BERNEVAL, JULY 11, 1900
My dear Lucien,
Here I am at Berneval, a pretty little watering place an hour's
drive from Dieppe. For the present I am staying at the hotel. The
place is smaller than Varengeville, but it is a real nest surrounded
by trees and slopes and with a pretty beach. If we take a place here,
you will have to come and spend several days with us. I hope to be
able to start working as soon as I get my paints and canvases
[1143-1149].
BERNEVAL, JULY 12, 1900
My dear Lucien,
Ricketts spoke to you about Chasseriau, but you give me the
impression that you listen only to him. I wrote you a very detailed
letter about the frescoes in the Cour des Comptes. I once showed
you works by Chasseriau, and he has done very beautiful things; I
have known his name for a long time, for the Chasseriaus were
merchants in St. Thomas; your grandfather knew them, they did
business together. He just escaped being forgotten, for his principal
work, the frescoes, were only lately saved from ruin. Imagine these
frescoes subject to the rain and wind for twenty years in the ruins
of the Cour des Comptes!
343
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 1, 1900
My dear Lucien,
I am sending you the three types of drawings with the sketches
which could serve you for the cutting if need be. I have done my
best in all the bustle of finishing paintings, unpacking and checking
up on my pictures. . . . Well, see if these will doj I don't send them
to you as perfect drawings for the cut, but it seems to me there
might be a way to use them.
344
19 0 1
28 PLACE DAUPHINE
PARIS, JANUARY 7, 1901
My dear Lucien,
It is true I haven't written you for a long time. We are so dis-
organized and upset by the holidays, and I have done not a little
work since I have had such beautiful effects 5 in addition I have
been busy with my show, or rather the show that Durand-Ruel is
expecting to hold of my works. The opening is about the 10th or
15th of this month.
PARIS, JANUARY 14, 1901
My dear Lucien,
Today my show opens at Durand-Ruel's : forty-two canvases.
The paintings of Eragny seem to me better than those of Paris and
of Rouen.1
PARIS, JANUARY 19, 1901
My dear Lucien,
My exhibition has had some small succes d'estime, but people
don't seem to be terribly enthusiastic.
1 This exhibition was composed exclusively of paintings done between 1898 and 1900.
345
PARIS, FEBRUARY 21, 1901
My dear Lucien,
I have had the grippe once more and trouble with my eye too !
I am almost over this, I am beginning to work again, but for more
than two weeks I have not gone outdoors.
I have finished so to speak, my Winter series : four canvases of
36 x 28 inches, five of 31 x 25 inches, two gouaches, five canvases
of 21 x 1 8 inches which are almost finished [1 155-1 181]. . . .As
you see I haven't wasted my time thanks to my regular hours of
work. I will begin my Spring series in April, maybe even in March!
CAEN, JUNE 19, 1901
My dear Lucien,
Not wishing to return to Berneval this year, for I am not very
interested in the place either for painting or for anything else, I
calculated that I could find a more suitable place elsewhere. I have
just gone through several watering places with Rodolphe who had
been staying at Dieppe. We went to Rouen to take the train to
Trouville, which, as you may imagine, I found horrible. En route
from Rouen to Trouville we got the idea of stopping at Lisieux,
which you praised so highly $ and really the city seemed very inter-
esting to us, with its old streets and churches. After Trouville, we
saw Villers-sur-mer, which seemed to us even uglier than Trou-
ville. . . . Atrocious chalets and an insignificant countryside. Well,
I thought that Caen would be worth looking at. It is a very interest-
ing city with superb churches, old houses and curious streets, but it
is also being buried under enormous modern houses.
We expect to go back tomorrow or the day after. In all this
traveling I have found nothing suitable.
HOTEL DU COMMERCE
DIEPPE, JULY 26, 1901
My dear Lucien,
I received your book, Un Coeur simple, which I found excellent.
I got it when I returned to Paris to have my eye treated, which, as
a result of the great heat, became inflamed ; but it's not serious.
I am staying here in a small hotel room across from the church
346
of St. Jacques and the market lj I have already started several can-
vases of effects of rain, which I dared begin as I thought that, after
the tropical heat which was bestowed on us, rain could not fail to
fall, to the great despair of the merchants in the neighborhood
[1193-1200],
Your mother, Cocotte, Rodo and Paul, have moved into a large
chalet at Berneval. They have a pony and carriage at their disposal.
What a pity that you can't stay there too ! I was hoping that you
would come at the end of the season and stay until winter. You are
right, it is only after November that people busy themselves with
art in Paris, in London you can't know what's going on.
During the summer of 1901 Lucien spent several weeks with
his father in France and then returned to London.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 12, 1901
My dear Lucien,
Since your departure I have finished four fairly large canvases.
I am as embarrassed as you about giving Sam the information
he wants concerning the painter Lucientes y Goya. The English art
critics are really amazing: Goya is an extraordinary personality
and is worthy of a serious and careful analysis. It is the paintings
of these modern artists that must be seen and studied; this takes
time and trips. History today is written so hastily and is more a
question of stylishness than anything else! That isn't serious.
PARIS, DECEMBER 31, 1901
My dear Lucien,
I too think that it is not in the drawing that we must look for the
defect [of the woodcuts for Les Travaux des Champs] , it is, as you
said, in the way of treating each colored plate and in the way of
engraving. If we were together, I am sure that we would hit upon
the right way. We will have to work together this summer at
Dieppe or elsewhere.
1 See figs. 75 and 76.
347
1902
28 PLACE DAUPHINE
PARIS, JANUARY 4, 1902
My dear Lucien,
My eye bothers me constantly. The slightest change of weather
induces an inflammation. Thus, yesterday my eye was perfect,
and this morning it is congested again ; it will have to be cauterized.
The inflammation has become chronic.
PARIS, MARCH 28, 1902
My dear Lucien,
I will send you next week Duret's book on Manet; he is quite
proud of it, but he does feel that it is lacking in something, that it is
not the last word. He would like to make a second edition (the first
edition of 600 copies is already exhausted) . The book sells for 25
francs, with a number of reproductions. For the second edition he
would like to use only woodcuts for the reproductions. Every time
I see him he begs me to speak to you about this, he constantly asks
me if you would be willing to undertake this, for he is a great ad-
mirer of your books. I think that if you write him about this
matter, you would have to explain carefully your methods of work.
I don't see how you could reproduce paintings by Manet or others.
348
PARIS, APRIL 1, 1902
My dear Lucien,
It is not lack of desire that keeps me from going to London to
see you, this would be a great pleasure indeed, but it is absolutely
necessary that I set up my easel outdoors after a winter of claustra-
tion; moreover I have to furnish Durand-Ruel and the Bernheims
with some paintings. It is of the utmost importance that you come
and spend some time with us, if only to keep in mental touch
with us.
DIEPPE, JULY 11, 1902
My dear Lucien,
Well, here I am in Dieppe at the Hotel du Commerce. I have
rented a room on the second floor under the arcades of the fish-
market. This is my studio. I have a first-rate motif, indeed I have
several. It is really a pity that you can't come to Dieppe this year,
but perhaps you will be able to escape for a little while. I believe
your mother will come any day now with Cocotte and Paul to spend
the 14th of July. In any case, there would be room for you, since I
have two rooms.
There aren't many people here but the place will fill up later.
The beautiful weather is attracting visitors, the English are the
first to come as tourists and excursionists. However, the coronation,
to which I am completely indifferent, may keep them at home. For
all that, they are interesting, they never despair, they have found a
way of glorifying their part in an infamous war in which they
have not shown any brilliance except through their money.1
DIEPPE, AUGUST 11, 1902
My dear Lucien,
I am very happy to learn that you are going to begin to print
with your own types of fount. You didn't show me your complete
1 A reference to the Boer War.
549
alphabet, I only saw a few letters, but I hope that on the whole they
have as much distinctiveness as those of the Vale Press.
I am working hard and for good reason, deals are tough, as the
peasants say. Last year the Bernheims wrote me many pressing and
friendly letters, this year not a word.
My motifs are very beautiful : the fishmarket, the inner harbor,
the Duquesne basin, in the rain, in the sun, in the smoke, etc.,
etc. [1241-1258]. . . .
And our publication, Les Travaux des Champs???
DIEPPE, AUGUST 15, 1902
My dear Lucien,
You can get your alphabet made. I have swung a little deal
which will bring me exactly the necessary money, 2,500 francs.
Dr. Julius Elias, an art critic from Berlin, and very enthusiastic,
wanted absolutely to buy something of mine. I will have this money
towards the beginning of October or November; if you need it
sooner, let me know. I would of course prefer giving it to you at
that date, for my credit with Durand-Ruel is almost exhausted.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 3, 1902
My dear Lucien,
You have heard that Zola is dead. It is a terrible loss to France !
And coming after the Dreyfus case, it is, as you can see, a grave
event. I sent my condolences to his widow, but I do not believe,
considering my age, that I can attend the funeral. I would not dare
follow the procession . . . and then I have just arrived from Dieppe
with my trunks full of canvases to be retouched and which I have
to bring to Paris.
ERAGNY, OCTOBER 20, 1902
My dear Lucien,
This morning I received your volume of Ronsard [Choix de
Sonnets] . It seems to me that this time you have surpassed yourself.
550
87. — Les Travaux des Champs: Girl with Cows. Drawn by Camille and cut
on the wood by Lucien Pissarro, about 1902.
The whole thing is simply superb, the cover is charming and dis-
creet in tone, the engraving is ample and very appropriate to the
ornamentation and to the characters, and the ensemble is decora-
tive, in very good taste and without affectation. I hope your collec-
tors will see it; as soon as I have an opportunity, I will be glad to
show it around.
The letters engraved by Esther are of great delicacy and admir-
able workmanship.
ERAGNY, NOVEMBER 4, 1902
My dear Lucien,
I am very concerned about the attitude Durand-Ruel and the
Bernheims have taken. I certainly don't intend to let them cheat
me, but I have so many expenses that it will be hard for all of us.
351
Clearly Durand needs me, otherwise he wouldn't be so roundabout
in his relentless attempt to quarter me. Nor can I count on the
collectors either ; I have some hope about Germany, where it seems
I am well known, but on the other hand, I know that I have to
contend with Durand-Ruel's enemies, who have done everything
they could to depreciate the value of my work by offering my
canvases at low prices. As before certain big Paris dealers sold pic-
tures at a loss in order to control the market and ruin Durand-
Ruel. In short, I have to bore myself with these matters instead of
looking solely to my art.
PARIS, NOVEMBER 26, 1902
My dear Lucien,
What you write me about Ricketts' work doesn't surprise me.
The general rule that is followed nowadays is to look for a style in
the works of one's predecessors without asking oneself what nature
could provide. Thus inevitably, he turns about like those squirrels
in their cage, without suspecting that there is a spring, a summer,
an autumn, a winter, air, the light, harmonies, admirable and
infinite subtleties in nature, and that the problem is to pay close
heed to these. It is true that he is not a painter, but a literary man
who has a story to tell j that isn't very interesting, and the fact is
that this has been very well done already — there is little value in
playing the same note all the time.
We have just received a letter from Rodo [who is with Georges
in Martigues] . It seems that he is working a good deal, he tells
me that they go around with a pupil of Cormon; this youth is
extraordinary, he makes many studies from nature using the
methods taught in the schools. In this way he is able to cover end-
less quantities of canvas without taking into account the air or the
light, and he paints everything a uniform brown ! And that in the
south! When he has made enough sketches in this way, he ad-
dresses himself to his painting, for the official Salon, a canvas of
more than six feet, after having established his motif by means of
photographs! Marvelous, what! He will get a medal for this and
will be hailed as a great painter. . . .
Durand-Ruel and the Bernheims show no signs of life. I am
waiting to see what will happen.
552
88. — C. Pissarro: Selfportrait, 1903.
89. — Camille Pissarro in 1897, Photograph.
PARIS, DECEMBER 27, 1902
My dear Lucien,
You will observe that this year I have had to limit my expenses
as much as possible in order to hold out and keep fighting, and I
am warning you that it is most likely that it will be necessary to
diminish your allowance. You should now be able to lighten my
burden a little with your own work. The few cents I have put aside
will be absorbed by my expenses.
355
1903
28 PLACE DAUPHINE
PARIS, JANUARY 24, 1903
My dear Lucien,
Durand-Ruel and Bernheim had refused to take my pictures
at the prices I proposed, and since a new dealer who had come to
see me wanted to buy some of my paintings I seized my chance and
sold the whole batch for a good sum. What motivated me especially
was that here was an opportunity to escape from Durand-Ruel,
who not only had a monopoly of my work by which he profited,
but even forced his prices on me under the pretext that my works
couldn't be sold.
This won't prevent me from selling to him later on, but I be-
lieve it was necessary to indicate in some way, even if it involved
some sacrifice, that I wanted to be free. This is a big experiment,
but it was necessary to try it. It will provoke Durand-Ruel ; so much
the better !
PARIS, FEBRUARY 26, 1903
My dear Lucien,
I have just dispatched my things to the exhibition of the "Seces-
sion" in Berlin, although M. Cassirer has not yet come to see me as
he promised. I sent my work just the same. I belong to the Society;
if I could build up connections apart from Durand-Ruel, I would
feel more at ease. Perhaps I should go to Berlin to attend the open-
ing either with you or with Georges. I would be only too glad to
do so!
354
PARIS, MARCH 50, 1903
My dear Lucien,
I am doing at present a series of canvases from the Hotel du
Quai Voltaire : the Pont Royal and the Pont du Carrousel, and also
the sweep of the Quai Malaquais with the lnstitut de France in the
background and, to the left, the banks of the Seine ; superb motifs
of light [1287-1296].
On April 2 the Exhibition of Impressionists opens at Bernheims'.
All the pictures shown will have been borrowed from collectors.
PARIS, APRIL 18, 1903
My dear Lucien,
I shall not go to Germany, the weather is too unfavorable, and
then I doubt whether I would be able to sell anything. As for go-
ing to London, that wouldn't be very practical either. If possible
I will visit London next year.
PARIS, MAY 8, 1903
My dear Lucien,
This Mr. Dewhurst * understands nothing of the impressionist
movement, he sees only a mode of execution and he confuses the
names of the artists, he considers Jongkind inferior to Boudin, so
much the worse for him! He says that before going to London
[in 1870] we [Monet and Pissarro] had no conception of light.
1 Wynford Dewhurst was then preparing a work which appeared in 1904 under
the title: Impressionist Painting, Its Genesis and Development. Pissarro himself sup-
plied the author with certain data, and one of his letters, in which he tells of his stay in
England in 1870, is quoted by Dewhurst: "In 1870 1 found myself in London with
Monet, and we met Daubigny and Bonvin. Monet and I were very enthusiastic over
the London landscapes. Monet worked in the parks, whilst 1, living at lower Norwood,
at that time a charming suburb, studied the effects of fog, snow and springtime. We
worked from Nature and later on Monet painted in London some superb studies of
mist. We also visited the museums. The watercolors and paintings of Turner and
of Constable, the canvases of Old Crome, have certainly had influence upon us.
We admired Gainsborough, Lawrence, Reynolds, etc., but we were struck chiefly by the
landscape-painters, who shared more in our aim with regard to lplein mr,' light,
and fugitive effects. . . ."
355
The fact is we have studies which prove the contrary. He omits the
influence which Claude Lorrain, Corot, the whole eighteenth cen-
tury and Chardin especially exerted on us. But what he has no
suspicion of, is that Turner and Constable, while they taught us
something, showed us in their works that they had no understand-
ing of the analysis of shadow, which in Turner's painting is simply
used as an effect, a mere absence of light. As far as tone division
is concerned, Turner proved the value of this as a method, among
methods, although he did not apply it correctly and naturally; be-
sides we derived from the eighteenth century. It seems to me that
Turner, too, looked at the works of Claude Lorrain, and if I am not
mistaken one of Turner's paintings, Sunset, hangs next to one of
Claude! x Symbolic, isn't it? Mr. Dewhurst has his nerve.
ERAGNY, JUNE 17, 1903
My dear Lucien,
I still don't know where I shall go to paint. These last weeks the
weather has been so bad that I couldn't look for a place. However I
did make several gouaches which I have promised the Bernheims
as payment for what I owe them. "We have arranged that they will
try to boost those of my pictures which are sold at auction, and I
will supply them with gouaches. I have to do this in order to coun-
teract the process by which my paintings sold at auction are being
priced at 1,000 instead of 5,000 or 6,000 francs! So you see my
fortunes are at lowest ebb. In short, I will have to be tight-fisted
until there is a new development, and I will have to find motifs so
as to be able to take advantage of any opportunity that presents
itself. As soon as the weather improves I will look for a place.
ERAGNY, JUNE 30, 1903
My dear Esther,
Lucien is right to turn every once and a while to nature, this
should be done regularly every year, otherwise he would never
make any progress. Renewal is indispensable, and three weeks is
little time for that, he really needs two or three months !
1 At Turner's request, one of his landscapes was hung next to -a landscape of Claude
Lorrain in the National Gallery in London.
356
HOTEL CONTINENTAL
LE HAVRE, JULY 6, 1903
My dear Lucien,
I have been here since Saturday 5 if the weather is good I will
probably go with your mother to Honfleur.
We have made the rounds — by carriage — with one of my col-
lectors, Monsieur Vandevelde, toured the city and its outskirts, and
gone through Sainte-Adresse. It is really very beautiful, but I
hardly think I could find a place with a window from which I could
work. Perhaps I will find what I want at Honfleur. If I decide to
stay there you could come and join me.
I should like nothing better than to have you working by my
side. As I see it you would not suffer by our working together,
neither you, Rodo, nor anyone. For generally one only finds one's
own direction after having worked for a great many years. Of
course, one can find one's style without this, but then one has to
look at the masters, as we all have done.
LE HAVRE, JULY 10, 1903
My dear Lucien,
Honfleur is a pretty little town, completely flooded by villas,
which are everywhere along the coast, alas ! But the harbor is very
interesting, there are hotels which are quite accessible, that is,
charge no more than seven or eight francs a day. We slept at the
famous Hotel Saint Simeon, at which all the painters since 1850
have stayed. Formerly it was a farmhouse, with apple trees in the
green fields and a view of the sea; Boudin, Corot, Daubigny,
Monet, Jongkind stayed there, but nothing remains of those glori-
ous days. These idiotic new proprietors have put the place in "good
order." It is horribly painted up and polished, there are rectilinear
gravel paths, one can get a view of the sea only from the dining
halls, from the room windows you can't even get a glimpse of the
sea now, in short, it is arranged to suit the taste of the English
ladies who abound. It is heartbreaking ! So I returned to the Hotel
Continental; I really don't know how to organize things for my
work. In my view, our field at Eragny is a marvel in comparison
with what I see here. As soon as I have achieved what I came to do,
357
I shall return to Eragny to paint some trees. Unfortunately, every-
thing works at cross-purposes this year. Since things were so bad I
was compelled to do a series which I thought would please my col-
lectors : the Jetty at Le Havre, of which the people of the town are
proud f and really it has character.
Lucien came to see his father at Le Havre and then went to
Eragny before returning to England^ Camille Pissarro remained at
Le Hdvre to complete his series on the Jetty [1298—1)15].
LE HAVRE, AUGUST 29, 1903
My dear Lucien,
Now that you are back in London you must have examined your
studies and compared them with those you made before. I hope you
noted the difference. In the short letter you wrote me you were
very sparing of details about Eragny. You seem to have seen only
the watercolors in my portfolios, and these don't deserve the com-
pliments you paid me. I could even say that I discontinued to do
some, for I find that I did not achieve the effects I aimed at. Too
infected by chance !
LE HAVRE, SEPTEMBER 8, 1905
My dear Lucien,
I too received an invitation to that Exhibition [in Berlin] , but
I have little information about it, except that I know the names of
several members of the committee, among others the director of the
Berlin Museum, and the German painter Liebermann who de-
fended us so well in Berlin. I have no luck in exhibitions : in Berlin,
at the show of the "Secession," the three figure paintings I showed
were not sold; at Macon I had a whole series — nothing was sold;
at Dieppe I showed some Views of the Pont Royal in Paris — noth-
ing was sold; at Beauvais I exhibited my Apple Trees in Bloom —
358
nothing. What do I get for all the trouble of sending my works,
running risks, regilding old, ruined frames, for the cost of packing
and insuring the parcels? Isn't it idiotic? It is not worth the trouble,
and what is most provoking is to see what is actually bought ! Petit-
jean, who arrived from Macon, wrote me that the painter who had
most success there was the worst mediocrity and without any repu-
tation. This doesn't surprise me; it is not so easy to understand how
to look at pictures. It will probably be the same story in London, if
not still worse, for they really don't care for anything in painting
except a brilliant brush stroke !
LE HAVRE, SEPTEMBER 22, 1903
My dear Lucien,
I intend to leave towards the 26th of this month. I sold two
pictures to the Museum [1510, 1315] and two to collectors. I am
waiting for other collectors, but I am hardly besieged by demands !
I see that we are far from being understood — quite far — even by
our friends.
359
90. — Lucien Pissarro: Portrait of Camille Pissarro. Woodcut.
On his return from Le Havre, Camille Pissarro prepared to move
into a new apartment, where he expected to paint views from the
window. He caught a cold while supervising the moving men who
packed his paintings. An abscess of the prostate, which his home-
opathic physician tried to cure without an operation, resulted in
blood poisoning.
Lucien, his sister and his brothers, except for Georges, came
immediately to the bedside of their father, then seventy-three years
old. Camille Pissarro's suffering was not prolonged. He died peace-
fully on November 12, 1903.
In April 1904, Paul Durand-Ruel organized a large exhibition
of the works of Camille Pissarro. This exhibition contained one
hundred and thirty-two canvases, gouaches, drawings and engrav-
ings, executed between 1864 and 1903. The preface to the cata-
logue was written by Octave Mirbeau. The prices of the paintings
ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 francs.
FINIS
560
INDEX
Acadimie Francaise, 203, 308
Acadimie Julian, 276, 279
Acadimie Suisse, 53, 263, 277
Adam, P., 180, 181, 245
Agar, 262
Aguiard, 280
Aix-en-Provence, 280
Ajalbert, 84, 95, 181, 318, 319
Alexandre, A., 183, 278, 286, 287,
319, 326
Alexis, P., 85, 120, 121, 319
America, 65, 66, 72, 76, 89, 125, 127,
154, 159, 177, 222, 244, 248, 259,
295, 326
Amsterdam, 330, 331
Andre, A., 239
Andrei, 196
Angrand, 77, 156, 223, 273
Anquetin, 112, 136, 156, 169, 171,
297, 323
Antwerp, 243, 247, 268
Arosa, 168, 192
"Art dans les Deux Mondes, L'," 142,
150, 154, 155, 163, 180
"Art Moderne, L\" 31, 81
Asnieres, 93, 106
Aurier, A., 163, 180
"Aurore, U," 318
Auvers-sur-Oise, 57, 100, 117, 121,
139, 167, 276
Avery, 124, 177
Barcelona, 299, 305
Bartholome, 142
Bastien-Lepage, 35, 53
Baude, 148
Bazincourt, 76, 86, 192, 233
Bazire, 129
Beardsley, 260, 289
Beauvais, 194, 197, 358
310,
128,
292,
188,
149,
157,
Belgium, 153, 181, 232, 234, 243, 244,
247, 250, 288
Beliard, 276
Bellio, de, 26, 91, 99,106, 118, 119, 129,
156, 161, 170, 218, 220, 222, 235, 236
Benefit, 148, 154, 177
Bensusan, 52
Berard, 73
Berenger, 211
Bergerat, 172, 277
Berlin, 45, 256, 259, 261, 267, 314, 330,
333, 340, 350, 354, 358
Berlioz, 26, 50
Bernard, Emile, 156, 165, 167, 170, 188
Berneval, 343, 346, 347
Bernheim-Jeune, 171, 189, 192, 335, 340,
349, 350, 351, 352, 554, 355, 356
Besnard, A., 90, 91, 108, 279
Beugnet, 67, 68
Bing, 206, 269, 279, 288, 289, 293, 322
Birmingham, 185
Bismarck, 92, 93
Bizet, 26
Blanche, J.-E., 289
Bonington, 46
Bonnard, 104, 188, 229, 282, 287, 288,
289, 291, 311, 339
Bonvin, 355
"Book of Ruth," see : uRuth, Book of,"
Boston, 33, 268
Boudin, 72, 334, 355, 357
Bourget, 73
Boussod & Valadon, 115, 123, 126, 127,
128, 131, 137, 143, 154, 155, 161, 172,
174, 188, 189, 190, 208, 218, 241, 260,
264
Bracquemond, 30, 71, 76, 94, 95, 96, 97,
98, 109, 115, 127, 150, 152, 282, 308,
311, 312
Brown, J. L., 58, 81, 82, 83, 106, 108, 211
Bruges, 240, 242, 243
361
Brunetiere, 258
Brussels, 81, 83, 86, 98, 100, 101, 102, 154,
221, 240, 241, 242, 243, 245, 246, 247,
253, 259
Buhot, 143, 150
Burne- Jones, 268, 298
Burty, 28, 73
Busnach, 103
Caen, 346
Caillebotte, 32, 63, 64, 71, 75, 235, 236,
239, 258, 260, 284, 307, 308, 309, 310,
312
Caldecotte, 49
Camondo, de, 260, 261, 287, 334
Canteleu, 43, 201, 202, 284, 290
Carabin, 172
Caran d'Ache, 82
Carnot, 242
Carolus-Duran, 53, 199
Carriere, 189, 285, 288, 289
Caseburne, 80, 91
Cassatt, 45, 64, 71, 75, 76, 146, 148, 157,
158, 159, 160, 164, 165, 170, 175, 178,
179, 181, 186, 192, 204, 221, 222, 239,
240, 244, 249, 257, 287
Cassirer, 354
Caudebec, 290, 336
Caze, R., 68
Cazin, 106
Cezanne, 58, 59, 63, 68, 106, 121, 165, 167,
186, 227, 237, 239, 241, 263, 269, 274,
275, 276, 277, 280, 282, 286, 289, 294,
322, 340
Champ de Mars, Exhibition at the, 169,
172, 198, 238, 268
Champfleury, 57
Chardin, 339, 356
Charpentier, 244, 268
Chartres, 268
Chase, 249
Chasseriau, 342, 343
Chdtillon-sur-Seine, 177, 326, 327
"Chat Noir," 82
Chaumont-en-Vexin, 178
Chenavard, 327
Chene, 214, 215, 217
Cheramy, 183, 192
Cheret, 311
ChevTeul, 64, 99
Chicago, 215, 249
Chocquet, 106
Clapisson, 80
Claude Lorrain, 143, 323, 327, 356
Clauzet, 65, 67, 84, 94, 96
Clemenceau, 36, 318
Clouet, 56
Cluzel, 66, 129, 135
Cocotte, see : Pissarro, Jeanne
Compiegne, 54, 55, 57, 58
Condor, 279
Constable, 355, 356
Contet, 68, 114, 225, 236, 288
Cormon, 352
Corot, 25, 56, 144, 177, 183, 212, 231, 235,
251, 267, 306, 323, 329, 335, 342, 356,
357
Courbet, 105, 177, 231, 263, 276, 278, 322,
329
Couture, T., 263
Crane, 149, 179
"Cri du Peuple," 120, 121, 125
Cross, H. E., 77, 224, 236, 266, 288, 289
Cuba, 263
Damps, Les, 187, 202, 203
Dante, 193
"Daphnis and Chloe," 232, 256, 257, 258,
270, 271, 272, 338, 339
Dario de Rigoyos, 266, 268
Daubigny, 56, 61, 146, 306, 355, 357
Daumier, 35, 50, 52, 56, 57, 124, 241
David, L., 329
Degas, 21, 23, 28, 30, 31, 35, 59, 40, 45,
46, 57, 63, 64, 69, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81,
83, 90, 95, 97, 98, 103, 104, 108, 125,
127, 130, 142, 144, 146, 149, 153, 160,
161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 168, 170, 175,
177, 179, 183, 203, 204, 216, 218, 221,
229, 237, 239, 240, 253, 258, 260, 261,
262, 263, 265, 270, 275, 276, 277, 282,
286, 287, 289, 293, 298, 299, 301, 306,
308, 309, 312, 318, 319, 321, 323, 329,
331
Delacroix, 25, 26, 32, 39, 50, 52, 106, 111,
144, 177, 183, 230, 276, 324, 329, 342
Delatre, 28, 133, 226, 227, 232
Denis, M., 279, 297, 339
Denmark, 76
Depeaux, 281, 283, 284, 285, 287
Desclozeau, 111
Deudon, 73
Deville, 43, 201
Dewhurst, 355, 356
"Dial, The," 138, 146, 152, 157, 161, 216,
217, 222
Dieppe, 336, 337, 343, 346, 549, 350, 358
Dijon, 326, 342
Dore, G., 308
Dowdeswell, 178
Dresden, 256, 258, 260
Dreyfus, 314, 318, 320, 334, 350
"Droits de VHomme, Les," 318, 319
Dubois-Pillet, 82, 83, 92, 99, 101, 103,
139, 153
Dumas, A., 277
Dumas, 78, 81, 85, 103
Dumont, 143, 148, 292
Dupre, 84, 225
Duran, Carolus, see: Carolus-Duran
Durand-Ruel, Ch., 72, 131
Durand-Ruel, J., 72, 190, 193, 194, 208,
217, 218, 221, 222, 239, 247
562
Durand-Ruel, P., 25, 24, 27, 28, 50, 52, 55,
56, 57, 42, 45, 44, 54, 58, 59, 60, 61,
65, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,
75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 84, 86, 87,
89, 91, 94, 98, 100, 101, 102, 116, 125,
124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 150, 151,
152, 138, 140, 141, 142, 144, 145, 148,
149, 150, 152, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161,
162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 168, 171, 172,
174, 178, 180, 181, 185, 184, 188, 189,
190, 192, 195, 194, 198, 199, 201, 202,
204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 212, 214,
215, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 224,
227, 232, 236, 238, 241, 245, 247, 248,
249, 250, 251, 260, 263, 266, 267, 268,
269, 273, 275, 276, 282, 284, 285, 286,
289, 290, 293, 295, 299, 306, 507, 508,
510, 515, 516, 318, 325, 524, 525, 529,
550, 552, 555, 555, 536, 540, 545, 549,
550, 551, 552, 554, 560
Diirer, 301
Duret, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 51, 52, 54,
50, 75, 105, 162, 164, 207, 208, 510,
521, 548
"Echo de Paris," 155, 170, 178, 228
"Eclair, L\" 155, 185
Ecouen, 54
Egypt, 54, 181
Eiffel Tower, 157
Elias, J., 550
England, 27, 55, 57, 58, 40, 55, 157, 140,
157, 178, 185, 205, 255, 254, 255, 256,
247, 259, 270, 275, 275, 291, 295, 500,
505, 510, 515, 522, 540, 542, 555, 558
Enot, 98
Epping, 95, 212, 215, 226, 255, 255, 256,
269
Eragny, 55, 58, 59, 71, 91, 98, 117, 125,
157, 138, 143, 146, 157, 158, 162, 176,
182, 184, 188, 189, 190, 192, 194, 199,
200, 201, 203, 209, 211, 215, 221, 227,
235, 242, 243, 245, 247, 249, 250, 251,
264, 270, 273, 280, 285, 287, 290, 293,
299, 504, 506, 512, 515, 516, 317, 525,
529, 550, 551, 545, 557, 558
"Estampe, V," 508
"Fagerolles," 75, 112
Fantin-Latour, 51, 289, 295
Faure, 225, 248
Fecamp, 48
Feneon, 64, 81, 85, 85, 95, 95, 96, 110,
111, 112, 115, 114, 126, 127, 154, 156,
157, 156, 169, 181, 182, 222, 224, 238,
259, 244, 287
"Figaro, Le," 29, 56, 45, 105, 115, 172,
174, 199, 326
Flaubert, 68
Flournoy, 324, 558
Forain, 55, 57, 64, 72, 76, 265, 289
Fouquier, 174
Fourcault, 150
France, 55, 58, 40, 52, 55, 66, 76, 80, 89,
157, 150, 151, 162, 185, 255, 242, 245,
245, 246, 247, 291, 510, 321, 525, 552,
547, 550
"France, La," 47
"France Nouvelle, La," 196
Gachet, Dr., 157
Gainsborough, 242, 555
GaUimard, 168, 171, 172, 175, 174
Gauguin, Abbe, 195, 197, 201, 209
Gauguin, P., 25, 51, 55, 56, 44, 45, \7 ', 48,
52, 54, 57, 64, 70, 74, 76, 77, 81, 82,
83, 95, 96, 97, 111, 112, 145, 153, 154,
156, 163, 164, 165, 167, 168, 170, 171,
172, 174, 179, 188, 221, 222, 227, 241,
261, 265, 275, 287, 291
Gausson, 188
Gavarni, 50
Geffroy, G., 148, 162, 164, 187, 220, 255,
257, 259, 265, 278, 281, 282, 283, 287,
288, 289, 310, 319
GeVicault, 183, 542
Germany, 66, 248, 552, 555
Gerome, 259, 309
Gervex, 55, 73
Ghent, 245
"Gil Bias," 68
Giotto, 96
Gisors, 55, 56, 58, 62, 88, 200, 212, 254,
556
Givemy, 200, 218, 248, 290
Gladstone, 56, 54
Glasgow, 191
Gogh, Th£o van, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120,
121, 122, 125, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128,
130, 131, 135, 136, 137, 139, 141, 143,
148, 149, 155, 162, 163, 165, 168, 192,
218, 256, 269
Gogh, Vincent van, 137, 159, 155, 154,
170, 188, 191
Goncourt Brothers, 187, 510, 512
Gonse, 28
Gosset, 71
Goujon, 62
Goupil, 45, 46, 78, 115, 143
Goya, 325, 547
Grancey-sur-Ourcq, 526
Grave, J., 195, 210, 244, 522
Gray, John, 157
Greco, El, 327
Greenaway, K., 49
Greuze, 110
Groux, H. de, 227
Guillaumin, 25, 42, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71,
72, 73, 75, 7§, 77, 82, 84, 96, 99, 100,
111, 112, 121, 153, 191, 225, 227, 241,
277, 289, 318
Guillemet, 56, 61, 68, 73, 75
Guingasse, see: Pissarro, Paul-Emile
Gutbier, 293
563
Haden, Seymour, 143, 150, 360
Hague, The, 73, 130, 330
Hals, 331
Hamerton, 150, 151
Hauptmaim, G., 224
Havre, Le, 358, 360
Hayashi, 162, 273, 310
Hayet, L., 136, 145, 220, 275
Hemixem,'247, 268
Henry, Charles, 178
Heymann, 60, 67, 70, 71, 80, 91, 92, 95,
101, 102, 104, 109, 114, 277
Hiroshige, 201, 207, 228
Hochede, 108, 162
Hokusai, 228
Holbein, 37, 38, 40, 56
Holland, 73, 80, 109, 130, 139, 244, 320,
331, 332
Hollowell, 249
"Hommes d'Aujourd'hui, Les," 165, 167
Honfleur, 357
Huysmans, J. K., 31, 73, 111, 115, 269,
318, 320, 321
Ibsen, 224
"Image, L\" 291, 299, 301, 310
"Independants," see: "Independent Art-
ists"
"Independent Artists," 77, 83, 92, 104,
108, 114, 125, 136, 139, 153, 155, 156,
161, 169, 171, 237, 238, 265, 288
Ingres, 30, 50, 177, 183, 267, 320, 329,
342
"Intransigeant, L\" 29, 32, 129
Isaacson, Alfred, 22, 36, 49, 50
Isaacson, Alice, 22, 52, 137, 167
Isaacson, Amelie, 22, 110, 284
Isaacson, Esther, 22, 38, 52, 53, 62, 137,
167, 206
Isaacson, Phineas, 22
Isle-Adam, 49, 57
Jacque, 28
Jacques, Ch., 143, 146, 150, 177
Jacques, E., 32, 148
Jacquet, 277
Japanese prints, 28, 39, 158, 206, 207,
208, 269, 279, 300, 312
Jeanniot, 162, 278
Jongkind, 39, 56, 184, 187, 336, 355, 357
Jourdain, F., 307, 308
"Journal, Le," 233, 277, 281, 283
Joyant, 143, 188, 189, 190, 191, 197, 198,
199, 203, 218, 319
Kahn, Gustave, 81, 84, 85, 90, 91, 92,
104, 105, 136, 145, 149, 150, 180, 181,
182, 183, 287
Keene, C, 35, 56
Kennedy, 176, 177
Kensington Museum, 22, 37, 259
Keppel, 177
Kew, 201, 203
Knobloch, M., 181, 182
Knocke-sur-mer, 243, 249, 252, 256, 268
Knoedler, 78, 79
Kropotkin, 195
Labusquere, 262
Laforgue, Jules, 189, 337
Lagny, 184
Lahor, J., 259, 260
Latouche, 68
Lautrec, see: Toulouse-Lautrec, de
Lawrence, 355
Lazare, Bernard, 245, 314
Le Bare de Boutteville, 188, 199, 204, 262,
297
Lebourg, 102, 306
Lebre, 89, 90, 92, 96
Lecomte, Georges, 166, 194, 222, 237, 244,
265, 281, 282, 287, 289, 324
Legrand, 78, 79
Legros, 34, 35, 39, 142, 143, 150, 177,
232, 276, 308, 322, 323
Le Hdvre, see: Hdvre, Le
Leloir, 130
Lemmen, 182
Lenain Brothers, 339
Leonardo, 143, 193
Lepage, see : Bastien-Lepage
Lepere, 140, 148, 291, 308, 311
Lepic, 71
Lepine, 340
Les Damps, see : Damps, Les
"Libre Esthdtique, La," 221, 234, 247
Liebermann, Max, 358
Lille, 278
Lisieux, 346
London, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 39,
40, 43, 46, 47, 50, 58, 81, 137, 139, 140,
143, 146, 150, 152, 153, 170, 171, 174,
178, 182, 184, 188, 191, 192, 194, 197,
198, 199, 200, 209, 210, 212, 219, 246,
253, 263, 285, 305, 306, 310, 313, 315,
318, 324, 328, 347, 349, 355, 358, 359
Lorrain, C, see : Claude Lorrain
Louveciennes, 168, 276, 299
Louvre, 156, 170, 242, 260, 272, 274, 299,
334
Luce, M., 137, 145, 165, 166, 169, 172,
182, 188, 201, 204, 208, 222, 227, 238,
245, 246, 265, 270, 271, 288
Luxembourg Museum, 153, 169, 183, 239,
259, 260, 264, 287, 307, 308, 313
Lyon, 204, 280, 327
McKinley, 295, 299
Macon, 326, 327, 259, 360
Madrid, 305
Maeterlinck, 182, 187, 190
Maison Dori, La, 75, 236
Mallarm6, 73
Manet, Edouard, 24, 25, 29, 39, 50, 51,
54, 72, 166, 170, 183, 195, 208, 225,
238, 248, 276, 323, 329, 342, 348
564
Manet, Eugene, 71, 73, 74, 195
Manet, Mme Eugene, see: Morisot, B.
Mantz, P., 156
Manzana, 274, see also : Pissarro, Georges
Manzi, 59, 204, 218, 306, 319
Martigues, 352
Martinet, 85, 90
Martinique, 170
Marty, 208, 227, 232
Mauclair, 241, 276, 297
Maufra, 233, 234
Maupassant, de, 50, 73, 155
Maus, Octave, 81, 247, 248, 252
Maxwell, 64
Meaux, 33, 34
Meier-Graefe, 330
Meissonier, 150
Mellerio, 193, 222, 265, 308, 311, 312, 319
Menzel, 45, 46
"Mercure de France," 163, 241
Meryon, 312
Meunier, C, 101, 267, 268
Meyer, Salvador, 123, 165, 187, 188, 192,
205, 208
Michel, Louise, 39
Michelangelo, 101, 323
Middleburg, 244, 245
Milan, King, 261, 262
Mill, J. S., 50
Millet, 25, 72, 105, 109, 110, 111, 119,
146, 177, 251
Mirbeau, 104, 115, 137, 145, 148, 166,
170, 178, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189,
190, 199, 202, 203, 206, 209, 210, 221,
228, 230, 233, 239, 244, 245, 246, 265,
281, 297, 298, 308, 310, 316, 319, 332,
360
Moline, 223, 257, 262
Monet, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 39, 43,
45, 46, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 72,
75, 77, 80, 83, 84, 90, 92, 93, 95, 99,
101, 104, 105, 107, 108, 109, 111, 114,
121, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 137, 142,
153, 154, 155, 159, 161, 162, 163, 165,
166, 167, 168, 171, 173, 183, 188, 190,
200, 201, 202, 203, 206, 207, 215, 218,
219, 221, 222, 235, 237, 238, 248, 251,
258, 261, 262, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270,
274, 275, 276, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284,
285, 286, 290, 292, 298, 299, 306, 309,
310, 318, 325, 329, 331, 332, 335, 340,
355, 357
Monier de la Sizeranne, 297
Montaignac, 154, 155, 335
Monticelli, 191
Moore, G., 73, 323, 336
Morawe, 249, 253, 258
Morel, 43, 44, 56
Morice, Charles, 221, 241
Morisot, B., 64, 69, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76,
104, 108, 110, 170, 175, 178, 262, 283
Morris, William, 138, 259, 291, 308, 311,
329, 340
Moscow, 333
Mourey, 296, 297
Munich, 245, 314, 333
Murer, E. and M., 42, 94, 117, 118, 119,
120, 121, 143
Nantes, 233
Nathanson, 281
National Gallery, London, 22, 40
Nelaton, 116, 117
New York, 72, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 89, 116,
124, 125, 131, 140, 143, 164, 165, 168,
179, 189, 208, 217, 218, 240, 249, 250,
308
Nini, 38, 50, 235
Nittis, de, 56, 71
Nouvelle Athenes, Caji de la, 82, 321
Nunes, 69, 70, 101, 122, 200
OUendorf, 104
Oiler, F., 263, 264, 277, 280
'Ordre de la Rose-Croix," 193
Orovida, see: Pissarro, Orovida
Osny, 24, 25, 31, 34, 76
Outamaro, 206
Paganini, 183
Paillard, 172, 188
"Panel Society," 170, 175, 178
Parenteau, Dr., 144, 165, 167, 209, 210,
220, 291, 299, 316
Paris, 23, '24, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 36, 41,
42, 45, 58, 59, 65, 69, 79, 80, 82, 86, 89,
93, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 104, 109,
116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 126, 130,
137, 138, 141, 142, 143, 148, 149, 154,
155, 160, 164, 165, 172, 180, 181, 182,
185, 186, 191, 195, 197, 200, 201, 206,
216, 218, 219, 220, 221, 226, 229, 233,
237, 239, 240, 241, 243, 244, 248, 251,
253, 255, 256, 259, 261, 263, 265, 268,
270, 272, 273, 279, 280, 282, 283, 286,
294, 299, 307, 316, 317, 323, 324, 327,
530, 331, 332, 340, 345, 346, 347, 350,
352 358
Paulin", 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 72, 93, 98, 102,
104
"Peintres-Graveurs, Les," 138, 146, 152,
154, 157, 158, 160
Peladan, Sar, 193
"Pere Peinard, Le," 195
Perpignan, 305
Perry, Mrs., 267, 283
Petit, Georges, 28, 54, 60, 75, 80, 83, 95,
99, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 113,
114, 115, 116, 335
Petites Dalles, Les, 48
Petitjean, 224, 226, 228, 359
Piette, 277
Pillet, 82, 83, 90, 93, 94, 95
Pissarro, Esther, n6e Bensusan (Mrs.
Lucien Pissarro), 176, 201, 202, 219,
220, 236, 270, 313, 314, 315, 319, 325,
333, 351, 356
365
Pissarro, Felix (Titi), 48, 78, 142, 143,
176, 177, 185, 189, 195, 197, 206, 209,
214, 215, 216, 226, 233, 234, 240, 241,
243, 244, 245, 247, 253, 262, 263, 265,
269, 273, 282, 300, 304, 506, 313, 315,
316, 317, 318, 320
Pissarro, Georges, 143, 146, 176, 182, 187,
206, 209, 210, 212, 215, 216, 223, 226,
227, 233, 234, 235, 240, 247, 250, 253,
262, 263, 265, 269, 273, 282, 284, 300,
304, 306, 313, 315, 318, 330, 352, 354,
360
Pissarro, Jeanne (Cocotte), 117, 136, 185,
186, 268, 269, 272, 273, 274, 347, 349,
360
Pissarro, Julie, nee Vellay (Mme Camille
Pissarro), 21, 26, 79, 81, 93, 100, 107,
116, 117, 118, 123, 129, 134, 135, 137,
141, 142, 143, 167, 182, 185, 186, 188,
189, 196, 199, 200, 201, 207, 212, 213,
216, 243, 246, 249, 250, 253, 262, 268,
272, 273, 274, 284, 294, 295, 309, 312,
313, 315, 317, 318, 326, 347, 349, 357
Pissarro, Ludovic Rodolphe, 138, 185, 214,
227, 245, 247, 262, 263, 273, 290, 325,
328, 330, 346, 347, 352, 357, 360
Pissarro, Orovida (Kiddie), 219, 220, 270,
313, 316, 333
Pissarro, Paul Emile (Guingasse), 185,
186, 347, 349, 360
Pittsburgh, 326, 333
"Plume, La," 224
Poissy, 206, 207
Pont-Aven, 97
Pontoise, 25, 29, 30, 34, 88, 115, 117, 124,
167, 184, 246, 276, 326, 336, 343
"Portfolio, The," 150, 151
Portier, 55, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 77, 80, 94,
95, 98, 102, 103, 104, 114, 115, 123,
124, 125, 149, 160, 161, 162, 165, 183,
186, 197, 199, 201, 203, 204, 212, 218,
219, 222, 241, 247, 248, 252, 272, 273,
275, 284, 336
Pozier, H., 110, 111, 136, 215
Pouget, 166, 195, 284
Poussin, 143
Pre-Raphaelites, 179, 185, 222, 259, 304
Proudhon, 49, 179
Proust, A., 29, 50
Puerto-Rico, 263
Puvis de Chavannes, 90, 104, 172, 198,
204, 238, 254, 257, 258, 263, 267, 268,
275, 282, 306, 318, 320, 325, 327, 336,
342
"Queen of the Fishes, The," 95, 258, 267,
301
Raffaelli, 87, 106, 173, 227, 292
Reclus, E., 244, 245
Redon, O., 64, 76, 77, 165, 227, 288
Regamey, 259
Regnault, H., 96
Regnier, de, 136
Reid, 191
Rembrandt, 143, 150, 177, 231, 298, 322,
323, 330, 331
Renoir, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 42, 43, 45,
46, 55, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 72, 75, 77,
80, 83, 89, 95, 99, 101, 104, 105, 107,
108, 109, 111, 114, 120, 121, 126, 127,
129, 132, 142, 166, 180, 181, 190, 198,
199, 207, 221, 229, 239, 261, 262, 270,
275, 276, 277, 280, 282, 308, 309, 323,
325, 331, 334, 335, 342
Renouard, 125, 309
"Revue Blanche," 287, 324
"Revue Encyclopedique," 259
"Revue Illustrde," 78, 82, 85
"Revue Indipendante," 85, 111, 115, 127
Reynolds, 242, 355
Ricketts, 137, 138, 146, 149, 152, 157, 260,
271, 272, 283, 289, 296, 298, 300, 301,
304, 308, 309, 310, 325, 329, 333, 342,
343, 352
Robertson, 91, 98
Robida, 57
Rocbe, J., 274, see also : Pissarro, Felix
Rochefort, 83, 332
Rochefoucault, A. de la, 223
Rodin, 108, 142, 173, 186, 187, 202, 207,
254
Rodo, see : Pissarro, Ludovic Rodolphe
Rome, 285
Ronsard, 350
Rood, N. O., 64
Rops, F., 308
Rose-Croix, see: Ordre de la Rose-Croix
Rossetti, 222
Rotterdam, 37
Rouart, 71, 76
Rouen, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 52,
57, 61, 62, 65, 76, 130, 133, 134, 201,
202, 258, 266, 267, 268, 280, 281, 282,
283, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 293, 295,
298, 303, 308, 326, 327, 330, 336, 345,
346
Roujon, 186, 209
Russia, 58
"Ruth, Book of," 258, 296
Rysselberghe, van, 101, 156, 224, 232,
240, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 255,
256, 257, 267, 268, 269, 310
St. Thomas, 245, 343
Ste. Adresse, 357
Sagot, 292, 293
Salmon, 28
Sargent, J. S., 183, 184
Schuffenecker, 74, 76, 111, 112, 188, 322
"Secession" (Berlin), 354, 358
Seguin, 262
Serusier, 188
366
Seurat, 63, 64, 66, 70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77,
81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 90, 93, 94, 96, 98, 99,
100, 101, 102, 103, 110, 112, 114, 120,
126, 129, 130, 132, 136, 142, 153, 155,
156, 158, 165, 168, 169, 181, 182, 228,
230, 273
Shakespeare, 26
Shannon, 138, 149, 150, 157, 213, 222,
255, 267, 283, 289, 291, 292, 298, 299,
323, 342
Signac, 63, 64, 66, 70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77,
81, 82, 83, 85, 90, 92, 93, 98, 99, 100,
101, 103, 104, 105, 110, 112, 114, 125,
126, 129, 135, 136, 153, 156, 158, 165,
169, 175, 181, 182, 188, 204, 222, 223,
224, 228, 230, 231, 233, 244, 255, 265,
266, 269, 275, 288, 324
Sisley, 23, 31, 33, 45, 64, 65, 66, 68, 72,
75, 98, 99, 101, 104, 105, 108, 109, 110,
111, 114, 121, 126, 129, 142, 153, 155,
162, 163, 166, 172, 188, 227, 261, 266,
306, 309, 310, 325, 331, 334, 335, 340
Slade School (London), 34
Societd des Artistes Independents, see:
"Independent Artists"
Societe des Peintres-Graveurs, see : "Pein-
tres-Graveurs, Les"
Steinlen, 245, 308, 310
Stremel, 256
Strindberg, 263
Sutton, 215
Swinburne, 155
Switzerland, 212
Tahiti, 156, 170, 172, 221, 261, 263
Tailliardat, 138, 232
Tanguy, pere, 59, 100, 172, 204, 236, 237,
263, 264
Tassaert, 25, 183
"Temps, Le" 309
Thomson, 198, 253
Thureau-Dangin, 207
Tillot, 76
Tintoretto, 327
Titi, see: Pissarro, Felix
Toche, 96
Toulouse-Lautrec, de, 136, 143, 188, 199,
208, 241, 269, 289, 291, 311
Touraine, 195, 233
"Travaux des Champs, Les," 85, 130, 131,
138, 144, 147, 203, 256, 270, 271, 272,
347, 350, 351
Trocadero, 274
Trolo, 279
Trouville, 346
Troyes, 177, 326, 327
Trublot, see: Alexis, P.
Trulat, 342
Tual, 118, 119
Turner, 22, 39, 132, 144, 242, 355, 356
Uterwijk, 330
Vallette, 308
Vallotton, 211, 287
Valmondois, 57
Vandevelde, 243
Varengeville, 337, 342
Veere, 245
Velasquez, 238
Vellay, 54
Venice, 297
Verhaeren, 101
Verlaine, 49, 172, 173, 291, 292, 293, 339
Vermeer, 331
Veronese, 327
Versailles, 34
Vever, 214, 306
Viau, Dr., 226, 227, 247, 248, 318
"Vie Moderne, La," 55, 89, 101
Vierge, D., 308, 311
Vignon, 44, 76
Villers-sur-mer, 346
"Vingt, Les," 81, 83, 98, 99, 100, 101,
102, 139, 153, 154, 221
Vogler, 221
"Vogue, La," 81, 84, 85, 89, 90, 91, 92, 96
Vollard, 227, 229, 237, 248, 274, 276,
288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 294, 311, 312,
338, 339
Vuillard, 287
Walgrave, 245
Watteau, 162
Watts, 320, 342
Westcapelle, 245
Whistler, 22, 23, 27, 28, 56, 72, 104, 106,
108, 110, 132, 138, 143, 195, 198, 208,
238, 260, 312, 339, 342
Willette, 265, 289
Willumsen, 156
Wisseling, van, 232, 253, 258, 263
Wolff, Albert, 29, 45, 96, 108, 113
Zandomeneghi, 71, 76, 82, 84, 142, 160,
162, 168, 170, 213, 278, 287, 330
Zeeland, 244
Ziem, 144
Zola, 25, 38, 43, 49, 54, 68, 73, 75, 103,
167, 197, 207, 276, 318, 320, 321, 322,
332, 350
367
$18.00
THE WOODCUTS OF
ARISTIDE MAILLOL
A Complete Catalogue with
176 Illustrations
Introduced and edited by
JOHN REWALD
This work reproduces and lists the
illustrative work of the French mas-
ter— early and unknown woodcuts as
well as his famous illustrations for
\ergil, Ovid, Longus, Verhaeren and
Yerlaine, usually available only in
expensive de-luxe editions. It also
shows the woodcuts executed during
recent years for several new publica-
tions. The reproductions are in black
and in red, not more than one to a
page.
From the time when he wove tapes-
tries and had not yet turned to
sculpture, Maillol was vitally inter-
ested in decorative art. He has never
quite abandoned his engravers' tools.
His woodcuts form an important part
of his work and constitute a world of
their own, a world of tender lines
and simple forms which convey the
artist's message of beauty.
This book is meant for art-lovers,
for students, for collectors and libra-
ries; it is a reference work and a
tool for study, but above all it is
simply a beautiful book that mirrors
the serene mood of a great artist and
expresses the calm and harmony of
nature transformed into art.
FRENCH AUTHORS
Georges Bernanos
PLEA FOR LIBERTY
The first grand polemic by a Christian writer in World War II.
Matches Peguy with a spiritual blaze of equal force. $3.00
Paul Claudel
CORONAL
English-French edition of a magnificent cycle of religious poetry
celebrating the feasts and the saints of the Church. $2.75
Charles Peguy
BASIC VERITIES
The most moving passages on poverty, politics, war, socialism,
the Jewish problem, Christianity, and some of his finest poetry.
Introduction by Julian Green, English-French edition. $2.75
Charles Peguy
MEN AND SAINTS
This volume shows Peguy in a more narrative vein : his brilliant
portraitures of Dreyfus, Bernard-Lazare and Jaures, are in-
cluded. One half of the volume contains verse in Julian Green's
translation, prefaced by an essay by Julian Green on Peguy's
poetry. English-French edition. $2.75
C.-F. Ramuz
THE END OF ALL MEN
Ramuz, Swiss writer in French language, belongs to the small
group of truly great European authors. His work is concerned
with the fundamentals of life. THE END OF ALL MEN tells
the story of what happens when this earth is threatened by
cosmic catastrophe. Paul Claudel: One of the best writers in
our language. $2.50
PANTHEON BOOKS INC. NEW YORK
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11